Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever
by Star Dragon Fire
Summary: Sequel to Syaoran's Angels. Loosely based on Charlie's Angels. The Angels are back and up to what they do best, saving the world however fate may have other plans for them as a new evil appears on the horizon. Please R & R!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: What's mine is mine, what's not mine is well… not mine

You really, really need to read the original fic. You can find that under my name!

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Prologue**

_New York City, U.S.A._

Techno music blared all around her as she pushed through the dancing crowd. Tomoyo glanced up, her lavender eyes just managing to make out a hank of blonde hair in the crowded balcony area above.

"I've got visual confirmation on the subject," Tomoyo murmured, speaking softly into her comm-link.

'_Me too,' _Sakura replied, '_Nasty looking brutes aren't they?' _

"Talking about Meiling?" Tomoyo teased.

Sakura laughed softly into her own comm-link.

'_The bodyguards.' _

Tomoyo nodded to herself not liking the bevy of the heavily armed men that patrolled the exclusive balcony area above. A slim metal staircase was the only access into the V.I.P. zone and that was guarded by a duo of tough looking guards scanning the dance floor below behind sun-glassed eyes.

'_Wait,' _Sakura said suddenly, '_Dark-haired man approaching the stairs.'_

Tomoyo glanced to her left and sure enough there was a man fitting Sakura's description making his way towards the stairway. Tomoyo sighed.

"Here goes nothing."

* * *

As he slowly climbed the stairs, his legs began shaking. His palms were damp and his breathing quickened as he glanced up at the two burly guards blocking the stairway feeling their gaze bore into his face.

Silently they moved aside allowing him to move up the final few steps and step onto the balcony. His nose was immediately assaulted with the thick smoky fragrance of burning cigars as his eyes were drawn towards the centre of the balcony where a huge crimson couch sat.

A blonde-haired man dressed in an expensive white suit inclined on its velvety surface, his amused blue eyes watching him carefully.

"Ahhh… Evan. Do you have it?" he asked plucking his cigar away from his lips.

Trembling, Evan moved towards and placed his briefcase down onto the low mahogany coffee table resting right in front of the man's knees. He unlocked the gold clasps and lifted it open revealing neat piles of cash lying side by side within. The blonde-haired man reached forwards and pulled one of the stacks free, casually he flipped through the crisp banknotes.

"Everything seems to be in order," he noted calmly.

He turned to someone beside him.

"Aren't they?"

It was then Evan realised that there was someone else lounging on the couch beside the blonde-haired man. A beautiful Asian woman glanced up at him with amused ruby eyes as she swung her long legs around sitting up gracefully. She reached forwards and grabbed another pile of cash flicking through is slowly.

"Yeah, they are," she replied, seemingly bored out of her mind.

The blonde-haired man laughed.

"Good, now to keep up my end of the bargain."

He gestured to someone standing behind Evan and the man jumped as he felt strong hands close over his shoulders.

"David," the blonde-haired man called, "Bring Evan the file."

A guard moved from behind the couch, his eyes unreadable as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a big heavy black envelope.

Unseen by everyone else, the Asian woman on the couch casually reached up and ran her fingers through her raven-black hair until they met a gold clasp nestling within the dark strands.

She gently played with the clasp angling it so the smoky light overhead glistened over the golden surface. She turned the clasp from side to side allowing light to bounce off in all directions before moving her hands away and lying back into the couch. With a small hidden smile, she waited patiently.

* * *

Tomoyo smiled as she saw the small pinpoint of light flashing from the balcony above."Sakura, get ready," Tomoyo whispered. 

'_Let's go,' _Sakura replied.

Tomoyo reached into her jean pocket and pulled out a small black device, glancing at the small glowing LCD screen Tomoyo began punching in the buttons on the device hurriedly. Data flashed across the tiny screen as Tomoyo worked furiously biting her lip in concentration.

Suddenly she was through.

Smiling wickedly, Tomoyo hit another button.

The fire alarm immediately went off, loud bells ripping through the air. The fast-beat music came to a screeching halt as the dancers began looking around in confusion.

A familiar voice ripped through the air.

"OH MY GOD! A FIRE! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

Tomoyo smothered a giggle as she rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen," she murmured as Sakura continued her tirade.

"RUN! RUN! RUN!"  
As one the dancers whirled around and began stampeding off towards the exits as Tomoyo and Sakura fought against the tide of tightly packed bodies. In the balcony above, Meiling leapt into action.

"HIYA!"

Her elbow shot out striking the blonde-haired man in the face. He fell away screaming in pain as Meiling lashed out with her feet striking the coffee table, it shot forwards cracking one the guard's in the knees. He crumpled to the ground as Meiling leapt up off the couch, another guard the one who was holding the files leapt at her but Meiling ducked under his swing throwing an uppercut that crunched into his nose. He stumbled backwards as Meiling leapt into a spin-kick, her foot smacked into his hand as he let out a roar of pain.

The envelope flew from his hands and sailed over the edge of the balcony as more guards converged on Meiling. Several more guards ran to the side of the balcony trying to retrieve the file as it sailed down onto the empty dance floor below.

A pair of hands snatched them from mid-air as a pair of mischievous emerald eyes smirked up at the men.

"Awww… a Valentine?" Sakura called out to the guards, "You guys are so sweet!"

In reply they pulled out their guns as Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Jeez, don't you want to play and make friends?" Sakura sighed shaking her head, "Bullies."

Tomoyo rolled eyes as she pulled something out from her jacket.

"HURRY UP!" she yelled to Meiling.

One of the gunmen was jerked back roughly as someone grabbed him from behind. Another was dumped onto his back as his knees came out from under him thanks to a vicious snap-kick.

Meiling trapped another in a headlock before flinging him at one of his buddies, both were sent sprawling backwards as Meiling kicked another guard away before leaping over the edge of the balcony flipping over in mid-air before landing nimbly onto the ground.

"Finally," Sakura muttered.

Meiling glared at her.

"You try fighting in high-heels and this skanky outfit!" she snapped, "And how come I have to wear this? I'm an engaged woman for god's sakes!"

Tomoyo shrugged.

"Think of this as your hen's night."

"It's usually the men who wears next to nothing on a hen's night," Meiling reminded her.

"What can I say? We're radicals," Tomoyo aimed up at the balcony with the black object she had pulled out from her jacket.

All three Angels smirked as Tomoyo pulled the trigger. A blazing flare shot out striking the balcony and showering it in a flash of bright light, the guards stumbled around blinded by the flare as they began firing desperately in all directions. There was at least one scream heard as one guard was struck down by a stray bullet.

"Jeez, not big with the teamwork are they?" Sakura muttered watching the chaos above as Tomoyo tucked her flare gun back into her jacket.

"Alert the cops," Meiling commanded, "And let's get out of here."

Tomoyo nodded and pulled a mobile phone out from her pocket as she punched in a series of numbers.

"Got the files?"

Sakura held up the black envelope.

"Oh yeah."

"Good," Meiling sighed, "Now can we please leave? I'm getting cold in this outfit."

Sakura glanced at the sheer silk shirt the Asian Angel was wearing and smirked wickedly.

"Aww… didn't those nice men upstairs keep you warm?" Sakura teased.

Meiling glared at her.

"I'm going to kick your ass."

Before Sakura could open her mouth to reply, the club door swung open. The three Angels turned around as a police began flooding through the doors.

"They're all yours," Tomoyo gestured up towards the balcony where the guards were still recovering from the blinding flare.

"Thanks mam," one of the policemen nodded briskly to the Angels as he brushed past. The three Angels watched in silence as the police began the relatively easy task of arresting the few remaining guards.

"So…" Sakura began breaking the silence.

She hefted the black envelope up.

"We've got this… so home?"

"Oh yeah," Meiling nodded eagerly.

Tomoyo laughed as they turned around and headed for the door.

Mission accomplished.


	2. A day in the life of

Disclaimer: what's mine is mine, what's not is well… not

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 1: A day in the life of…**

"I'm scared."

Marcus looked at her strangely.

"Excuse me?" he asked confused.

"I'm scared," Meiling admitted softly.

"Umm… why?" Marcus frowned in confusion as Meiling looked up at him, her ruby eyes dark with anxiety.

"I can't protect her from this," Meiling whispered leaning against her fiancé's chest, "She has to face this on her own and what happens if she can't deal with it? I mean I want to be there for her always but I can't."

"Meiling…" Marcus began gently.

The Asian Angel ignored him as she continued her little rant.

"I know she's going to do well but it's not always going to be smooth sailing. I'm afraid that one day something's going to happen to her and I won't be there… and she'd be all alone and she'd be upset and… and… and…"

Marcus leaned forwards and kissed her gently on the lips, effectively cutting her off.

"Number one, Lily's going to do fine," Marcus said softly as he pulled away, "Number two, she's going to school not going off to fight in a war or something… and number three, she knows we'll always be here for her."

"I know it's just…" Meiling sighed, "I don't know…"

"Oh please, stop worrying," a familiar voice said from behind them.

Meiling and Marcus whirled around.

"Hi, Sakura," Marcus greeted.

Sakura smiled at him.

"Hey, Marcus," she turned to Meiling, "Meiling, chill. Lily's going to do great."

She walked up to the couple and smiled as she saw the small group of children milling around in the schoolyard. All around them stood other parents, some just as anxious as Meiling.

"Why are you here?" Meiling asked confused.

"Why am I here?" Sakura repeated incredulously.

"Please, like we're going to miss Lily's big day!" another voice said from their left.

"Tomoyo!"

The Japanese Angel smiled at them as she moved to stand beside Sakura.

"This is so cool," Sakura beamed, "Lily's first day of school."

"I've got a camera," Tomoyo grinned holding up said device.

Marcus laughed as Meiling sighed.

"I'm still worried," Meiling said slowly.

"She's fine," Tomoyo pointed to something behind them, "See? She's already making friends."

Marcus and Meiling turned around and saw what Tomoyo had seen. Lily was talking excitedly to another a young girl, both children practically bouncing off the ground with excitement.

"She's going to be fine," Sakura reassured them, "And anyway, anyone teases her we'll kill them."

"I think that's illegal," Meiling said distractedly, the bulk of her attention still on Lily. A small smile appeared on her face as Lily looked up and waved excitedly at her.

"We'll teach Lily how to fight then," Sakura continued.

Her emerald eyes suddenly lit.

"She can be a mini-Angel!"

Meiling smiled at the thought as Marcus laughed and shook his head.

"I don't think the teachers would appreciate Lily beating up someone just because they give her a strange look," he reminded them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tomoyo asked teasingly, "It's not like we beat up everyone that gives us a strange looks."

"Yeah, because half of L.A. would be in intensive care if Meiling acted like that," Sakura added jokingly.

"You'll be in intensive care if you don't be careful," Meiling shot back, "And what was that supposed to mean?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Oh please, after you got engaged you were walking around with this bizarre grin on your face. Everyone was staring at you," she smirked, "And oh! You kept running into things."

"Yeah," Tomoyo agreed, "Remember that time she almost got hit by that car?"

Meiling flushed as Marcus glanced at her.

"You almost got run over?" he demanded.

"Almost," Meiling repeated defensively, "All. Most."

"Yeah, like the time she almost ran into that pole…" Sakura trailed off, "Oh wait, she did run into that pole."

"You told me you got that bruise from training," Marcus remembered glancing at Meiling who suddenly find the sky very interesting, "Uh oh, you're lying to me already and we're not even married… should I be worried?"

"NO!" Meiling yelled loudly.

All the parents around them stared at her as Sakura and Tomoyo smothered giggles whilst trying to look innocent. Meiling glared at them before turning to Marcus who was grinning widely.

"Just kidding," he said reassuring his fiancée, "Don't worry, I really don't care about such little things… unless there really is a deep dark secret you want to tell me… is there?"

Meiling rolled her eyes.

"Yes," she said sarcastically, "I forgot to tell you that I'm having a sordid affair with Xiaolang."

"Hey!" Sakura yelped as Tomoyo and Marcus laughed, "Hands off my man!"

"Oh dear, possessive little thing isn't she?" Tomoyo teased, "My man?"

Sakura glared at them and opened her mouth to hurl a verbal barb back at them but was cut off as the school bell began ringing.

"Oh!" Tomoyo's arm instantly swung up, camera attached, as teachers began appearing, "There she goes!"

They stood in silence and watched as one by one the group of children began disappearing into the school building. Meiling was torn between beaming with proud and bursting into tears as Lily gave them one final wave before skipping in through the doorway. Sakura had a small smile on her face as Tomoyo continued recording this special event. As the final child entered the school, Tomoyo closed her camera off and turned to look at her friends.

"Okay, so what now?" she asked cocking her head to the side, "Anyone feel like grabbing something to eat?"

Marcus shook his head.

"Sorry but I've got to go prepare for my next lecture," he explained apologetically, "I should've done it last night but I… uhh… got distracted."

Sakura raised an eyebrow as Meiling and Marcus blushed under their friends' scrutiny.  
"Translation: they were going at it like bunnies," Tomoyo muttered under her breath as Sakura laughed.

Meiling and Marcus ignored them.

"Alright, see you this afternoon then? We're picking up Lily together, remember?" Meiling asked raising her head for a kiss.

"Of course I do," Marcus said with a small grin before kissing her gently.

He smiled at Sakura and Tomoyo before walking off towards his car.

"He likes his new job at U.C.L.A. doesn't he?" Sakura asked watching the man drive off.

"Yeah," Meiling nodded, "He really loves teaching."

"That's good," Sakura smiled, "He finds something he loves to do again. I mean I thought he was going to take up being a lawyer again…"

Meiling shrugged.

"Too many bad memories I guess," she said gently, pulling a face, "But being a law professor is good. He doesn't waste his law degree and the students really seem to like him."

"The female ones especially?" Tomoyo teased.

"Not if they want to keep their limbs," Meiling huffed.

Sakura laughed.

"And you call me possessive?"

"So wanna grab a bite to ea…" Tomoyo began but was cut off as their mobile phones began ringing loudly, "Hold that thought."

Simultaneously all three girls pulled out their phones and glanced down at the glowing screens.

"Syaoran," Sakura murmured, "Looks like it's work time."

"Think it's about that file we picked up last week?" Tomoyo asked as all three girls began walking towards their cars.

"Most definitely," Meiling nodded.

She unlocked her car door and slid in.

"See you soon?" she called.

Sakura and Tomoyo nodded as Meiling slammed her door shut and turned the ignition. Soon the air was filled with the sound of three running engines as the Angels drove away to their headquarters.

* * *

"Good morning, Angels."

"Good morning, Syaoran," the three girls chorused.

"I've had a look on the files you picked up in New York last week," Syaoran told them, "They were interesting to say the least."

"So what's the sitch?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Apparently the man who was trying to obtain those files is known as Evan Solomon," Syaoran informed them, "Look."

A soft click filled the air as a set of wooden panels set into one of the walls slid downwards disappearing into the plaster, revealing a large TV screen underneath. The girls watched as a grainy black and white image flashed onto the screen.

"Evan Solomon, petty crook really," Syaoran told them, "He's been in jail before but only for little crimes: breaking and entering, robbery, drug possession… it's a pretty long list but mostly petty things."

"Why would someone like Evan try to mess with a powerful organization?" Tomoyo asked frowning, "I mean the crime syndicates in New York can be pretty vicious."

"That's true," Syaoran agreed, "But Evan wasn't working for himself, recently he became part of another as yet unnamed crime syndicate."

"What's on the files?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Delicate U.S. military documents," Syaoran told them, "I'm sorry but I can't reveal that kind of information even to you."

"Whatever," Meiling shrugged, "So what are we supposed to do?"

"The police were transporting Mr. Solomon to a secure maximum security prison but the envoy was attacked and Solomon was kidnapped. Several of my sources seem to indicate that he's being held right here in L.A.," Syaoran informed them.

"Let me guess, we break in and retrieve him?" Sakura asked raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly."

"Where is he being held?" Tomoyo asked getting straight to the point.

Syaoran laughed.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

The Angels exchanged puzzled looks as Sakura sighed.

"Why do I have the feeling I don't want to know?"

* * *

"This is my kind of place!" Meiling smirked.

"Oh god, we're so dead," Sakura moaned.

"Couldn't they have just taken him to an abandoned warehouse like they always do?" Tomoyo muttered, "But no… they had to choose this."

"It's called a fighting dojo," Meiling reminded her.

"Full of black-belt martial art experts," Sakura gulped, "Yay, us."

"So, let's do this," Meiling said firmly with a vicious grin.

Tomoyo closed her eyes.

"Next time, I choose the plan."

"I agree," Sakura whispered.

Meiling shot them sidelong glances before stepping through the rice-paper door leading into the main area of the fighting dojo. All around them, heavily muscled men dressed in white robes were sparring with each other, intense looks of concentration on their faces.

"There he is," Tomoyo whispered glancing off to her left.

Sakura and Meiling followed her eyes and saw a tall Asian man standing in the corner, watching over the dojo with calm black eyes. His robes were ebony black with golden dragons sewed into the fabric.

"That's our man?" Sakura murmured.

"That's him."

"Let's roll," Meiling muttered.

She immediately began walking over towards him as Sakura and Tomoyo hung back. They watched on as the Asian Angel confronted the man.

"Aikio Nasuka?" Meiling asked.

"Yes?" the man glanced down at her.

"I'm looking for Evan Solomon," Meiling smiled up into his shocked eyes, "And judging from that look on your face, I think you know where he is."

Aikio glared down at her.

"You're messing with dangerous things, little girl," Aikio growled.

"Little girl?" Meiling laughed, "I can kick you ass."

Aikio lashed out at her with a left atemi arm strike. Meiling blocked the blow before throwing a left hook at him. He ducked under the blow before leaping back up and hitting her with a right punch. Meiling stumbled backwards as all the other men in the room charged at her with a loud roar.

Sakura and Tomoyo immediately waded into the fight as they lashed out with arms and feet striking head, chest and legs as they fought back to back against the ring of trained fighters.

Meiling and Aikio were caught in a deadly duel. They traded punches and kicks with deadly speed and precision, only instincts and reflexes saving them from punishing blows. Meiling connected with an uppercut that sent him flying backwards, he hit the ground as Meiling charged at him with a flying kick. He rolled away as Meiling's knees smacked into the ground painfully, Aikio tried to kick her but Meiling leapt to the side springing back up to her feet before hitting him with a one-two combination to the chest.

Sakura ducked as Tomoyo rolled over her back, double-kicking a man in the face. He fell away as Tomoyo landed blocking a rain of deadly kicks that smashed down onto her defences. Sakura threw herself into a back flip, dodging a wild swing before landing and punching the man in the face.

He dropped to the ground as another fighter took his place.

"Damn it!" Sakura growled, "There's too many of them."

"The more the bloody merrier," Tomoyo growled as she grabbed a man's arm and threw him against a support post.

He slid to the ground as the two Angels continued to fight against their attackers. Meiling and Aikio continued to spar as Meiling fell to the ground, her legs knocked out from under her by a leg-sweep. Aikio raised his foot and snapped a backwards kick at her trying to hit her with the back of his heel. Meiling's arms shot out grabbing his heel and fling him backwards, he hit the ground as Meiling flipped back up onto her feet.

"MEILING!" Sakura yelled out suddenly, "DUCK!'

Meiling instantly reacted as a man sailed past overhead thanks to a powerful roundhouse kick by Sakura. The man hit the ground painfully as Aikio lashed out at her with a spinning kick. Slightly off-balance from the hurried duck, Meiling was unprepared as the man's foot snapped into her chest. She was sent flying through the air, crashing through a rice paper and wood floor as Aikio laughed in victory.

"That's what happens what little girls get for mess with things that do not concern them," he smirked as he stalked towards the hole in the wall.

Meiling slowly crawled to her feet, ready to take him on again. A soft whimper from somewhere behind her forced her to turn around, ruby eyes widening in shock as she took in the sight before her.

Evan Solomon was tied to a chair, a piece of duct tape gagging his mouth as rough ropes bound his limbs. His eyes were glazed over with pain, his shirt stained with dried blood as Meiling's eyes took in the brutal black and blue bruises that marred his skin.

"Bastard," Meiling spat as she turned around to glare at Aikio, "Jeez, you're a big manly man aren't you? Beating up someone who's tied down."

"Oh, him?" Aikio laughed, "Don't worry, he'll live."

"Oh and here I was thinking you were some kind of sick twisted psychotic freak," Meiling sighed, "What's wrong Aiky sweety? Mommy and daddy didn't give you enough kissies and huggies when you were young?"

"Don't talk about my parents that way!" Aikio snarled.

"Oh, don't worry I don't abuse animals," Meiling shot back.

Aikio leapt at her with a growl as Meiling leapt to the side, the black-robed man crashed to the ground as the Angel elbowed him in the face. The man was now feral with rage, lashing out indiscriminately with wild blows as Meiling parried with him, trying to spot an opening.

She grimaced with pain as one quick strike stuck her in the chest.

"Ouch!" she muttered stumbling backwards.

A second blow knocked her to the ground as Aikio fell on her with wild punches that crashed into her body. Meiling grimaced with pain as she tried to fend him off but the man grabbed her around the throat, strangling her viciously as the Angel's vision began to dim.

"Hey!" a voice cried from behind them.

Aikio whirled around only to have two fists slam into his face. He dropped to the ground as Meiling slowly crawled to her feet, rubbing her neck gently with a pained grimace.

"Took you guys long enough," she muttered wincing as gingerly touched her neck.

"Jeez, how about nice to see you? Thanks for saving my life?" Sakura asked with a sigh, "Some people, totally ungrateful."

"Man, that guy has a hard face," Tomoyo noted rubbing her knuckles gently, "Hmmm… must've something to do with his thick head."

The three Angels shot one last disdainful look at the knocked out Aikio before turning to Evan Solomon. The man gazed up at them with unfocused eyes.

"Ouch," Sakura whispered seeing the man's injuries.

"We need to get him to a hospital," Tomoyo murmured as she began untying him.

Sakura moved to her help as Meiling look on. Supporting the bleeding man between them, the two Angels slowly helped him up.

"Okay, what do we do with them?" Meiling asked glancing around at the damage they had caused.

"Call Syaoran, he'll take care of it," Sakura told her.

Meiling nodded and pulled out her mobile, which was surprisingly intact even after the knockdown, drag-out fight she had just gone through. Punching in a series of numbers, she waited as it began ringing.

"Syaoran?" she asked as someone on the other line picked up.

'_Meiling?' _

"We've just retrieve Solomon but the dojo's kind of a mess. There's a whole bunch of knocked out crims hanging around," Meiling explained.

'_Don't worry. I'll handle it.'_

"Thanks, we're going to take Evan to the hospital then we're heading back to headquarters," Meiling told him.

'_Alright, I'll talk to you Angels then. See you soon.'_

"Bye," Meiling hung up as she turned to her friends.

Sakura and Tomoyo looked at her questioningly.

"Let's blow this joint."

And with that the Angels left.

* * *

"It was like something out of a Bruce Lee movie! I mean, there we were three girls against a bevy of men and it was a total melee! I mean a full on no mercy brawl!" Sakura said excitedly.

Xiaolang laughed as Sakura mimed a couple of quick punches, hitting the air with a quick volley of strikes.

"Okay, I think I got the picture," Xiaolang grinned, "So what did Syaoran say?"

"Oh, Syaoran told us that he had someone talked to Evan but it's going to take a while to actual sift through the stuff he gave us. Apparently he was pretty incoherent but given the beating he received from Aikio…" Sakura shrugged, "Well, you know."

"I think I know," Xiaolang said sagely.

Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you humouring me?"

Xiaolang gave her a mysterious smile before taking a sip from his glass.

"I think you are," Sakura continued.

"Your salad's wilting," her boyfriend reminded her.

"Nice try at distraction," Sakura informed him, "Not working."

Xiaolang sighed.

"I can't win, can I?"

"Nope," Sakura grinned at him impishly as she speared a piece of lettuce with her fork before bringing it up to her mouth.

Xiaolang watched as she began chewing on the piece of the vegetable, a look of deep satisfaction on her face.

"You look happy," Xiaolang observed.

Sakura grinned at him.

"Why shouldn't I be? Mission completed and I'm having lunch with my hot hunk of a boyfriend."

"Hot hunk?" Xiaolang repeated with a raised eyebrow, "I swear I can't be held responsible for what I do to you in the heat of passion."

Sakura merely smiled at him sweetly as she continued eating her salad.

"A little public nudity is always good," she added teasingly.

Xiaolang laughed.

"Tease."

Sakura shrugged and continued eating.

"Your food's getting cold,"

Xiaolang shook his head and bit into his pasta as Sakura glanced around the restaurant. Her eyes lit up with delight as she spotted a familiar face.

"Di!" she cried as Xiaolang jumped in surprise, "Di! Over here!"

Her friend's head snapped around, blue-grey eyes roving until they noticed her.

"Sakura!" Diana Armstrong rushed over and beamed at her friend, "Hey Xiaolang."

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Embarking on the daily ritual of eating lunch," Diana smirked, "What do you think?"

"With Kevin?" Sakura teased as her friend blushed.

"Umm…" Diana hedged as she began fidgeting nervously.

Sakura's question was answered as Kevin Lacuray, Diana's boyfriend, stepped through the door of the restaurant. His blue eyes lit up as he spotted Diana.

"There you are," he walked over to them, dropping a quick kiss on Diana's lips before turning to Sakura and Xiaolang, "Hey, fancy seeing you guys here."

"Small world ain't it?" Xiaolang mused.

Kevin laughed.

"Sure is."

* * *

"We have a problem."

"What problem?"

"You know that fighting dojo we've been monitoring?"

A puzzled looked was thrown his way as the grey-haired man sighed.

"The one we think has a connection with the case we're working on?"

"Oh! Yeah that… what about it?"

His partner dropped the bombshell.

"It's been raided.

"What?"

"Someone's come along and trashed it. Aikio's arrested."

"What? He was our best lead!"

"Well, what can you do about it?" the grey-haired man said, shrugging helplessly, "It means he's now basically useless to us."

"Now what?"

"Well, we've got to start looking for a new lead straight away."

"Oh man, this sucks," he took a deep breath, "Do you know who trashed the place?"

"Well… we got some vague descriptions…"

"Tell me."

Yukito eyed his partner, CIA agent Touya Kinomoto, carefully as he slowly replied.

"Apparently, it was done by three young women."

* * *

CLIFFHANGER! Yes, Yukito and Touya are going to be in the sequel but wait… isn't Touya supposed to be dead? (check the prequel… I forget which chapters)

Next chapter:

The Angels are sent on a mission to investigate the mysterious documents that were in Evan Solomon's possession. However what does this have to do with a kidnapped scientist? As the Angels head back to a familiar place, they can't help but feel that something is going to go horribly wrong… familiar faces return in _An American Angel in Paris._


	3. An American Angel In Paris

**Syaoran Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 2: An American Angel in Paris**

"DIE!"

Moving with amazing speed Sakura rammed herself into Leon, sending him sprawling as a blast of bullets shredded the floor. Leon hit the ground as the men continued firing. Whimpering under his breath, he crawled behind the relative safety of the bar as their attackers focused on Sakura. Desperately trying to save herself from the bullets she threw herself to the side, tucking into a roll as a barrage of metal destroyed the wall above her.

Unfurling her body, she sprang behind a nearby couch as bullets tore into the leather, punching right through the flimsy fabric and narrowly missing her body.

With a growl, Sakura rolled onto her back lashing out with both legs landing a solid double kick on the half-destroyed furniture. It skidded across the polished floorboards ramming into one gunman. He was knocked backwards as the gun in his hands jumped around wildly spraying bullets everywhere with deadly consequences. One of the cronies fell backwards in a spray of red as one stray bullet blasted into his chest. He hit the ground, dead.

"GET HER!" the leader cried callously ignoring the man's death as he shot at the exposed Angel.

With a small grimace, Sakura leapt up bullets tearing the floorboards as she snagged the crystal bejewelled chandelier overhead.

"Kill that bitch!" the leader roared again.

"I hate being popular," Sakura muttered reaching up hurriedly into the canopy of glass ornaments hanging around her.

With a powerful yank, she pulled one glass crystal free from its mooring as the gunmen swung their guns up at her. With a cry, she leapt down from her perch straight at them. Bullets tore through the air around her like deadly metal wasps as Sakura lashed out one foot hitting one gunman in the throat. He fell to his knees, choking noisily as his eyes rolled into his head. Hitting the ground, Sakura rolled with the momentum before lashing out with the crystal shard in her hand.

With one brutal swipe, she slashed one gunman across the knees, wincing with pain as the glass's razor edge bit into her palm. The man she had wounded went down as his gun flew out of his hands. Deftly catching the weapon from midair, she spun around on her back and fired.

Bullets shredded the chandelier in a rain of sparks and broken glass. Sakura flipped back onto her feet as the men cowered away from deluge of debris showering down on them. A small chip of glass sliced through her arm but Sakura ignored the pain as she charged straight at her attackers. Swinging the butt of the rifle around, she clocked one man across the back of his head as she leapt into a spinning kick that took tow men down at once.

Their bodies hit the ground as she spun around, cracking another man across the face, his nose shattering under the impact. He fell into a crumpled writhing heap as Sakura whirled back around the other way.

Only to stare straight into the barrel of a gun.

"Freeze bitch," the leader of the gunmen snarled into her face, anger contorting his features in a ghoulish mask of unbridled fury and hatred.

He cocked the hammer of the gun back.

"Or I'll blow your face off," he hissed.

Sakura froze.

* * *

_48 hours before…_

With a small frown on her face, Sakura pulled out her mobile and punched in a series of numbers.

Tapping her feet impatiently, she waited as it began ringing.

"Tomoyo?" she asked as the person on the other line finally picked up.

'_Sakura?' _Tomoyo asked in confusion.

"There's something wrong."

* * *

Touya Kinomoto felt his jaw hit the ground as he surveyed the damage done to the dojo.

"A couple of girls… did this?" he finally managed to squawk.

"Apparently," his partner, Yukito, replied glancing around the dojo.

"What did they have?" Touya demanded, "A demolition team with them?"

"Do I sense just the slightest hint of chauvinistic pig-nism?" a female voice drawled from behind them.

Both agents whirled around and stared into a pair of amused ruby eyes.

"Nice to see you can make it," Touya snapped before turning around again.

Yukito shook his head and sighed.

"Good morning Nakuru," the grey-haired man said cordially.

Nakuru smiled at him before turning to Touya.

"Welcome to the twenty-first century, insensitive male jerk," she said with an overly sweet smile, "Women can also cause mass property damage now thanks to the feminist movement from the century before… and you're lucky our boss gets angry every time I smack your ass down because otherwise? You'll be eating floor by now."

"I'd like to see you try," Touya shot back whirling around to glare at her.

Yukito sighed under his breath as he stepped between them, taking up his long-term role of referee in another Touya vs. Nakuru death match.

"Work. Concentrate," he said firmly forcing Touya to turn around as well.

Nakuru huffed as Yukito ruined her fun but she forced herself to concentrate as she glanced at the dojo. Despite what she had said, she herself was amazed at the damage done.

"So what happened?"

"Aikio's in jail," Yukito explained.

"Whoa," Nakuru's eyes widened, "How?"

Yukito shrugged glancing down at the notepad he held in his hands. Scanning through his notes, he found nothing useful.

"Not really sure… it's kinda vague three young women came… they pretty much took on the whole dojo and won…" Yukito closed his notepad with a sigh, "Then the police were contacted somehow and everyone was arrested… the girls were gone when they got here."

"Wow, Powerpuff Girls on steroids," Nakuru muttered giving a low whistle of approval.

Touya groaned.

"Can you please stop with the pop culture references and stay focused?" he demanded.

"Sure thing, Grumpy Old Man," Nakuru smirked.

Touya let out a low growl of frustration as Nakuru ignored him. She paced around the dojo gingerly probing at the debris.

"Have we got fingerprints?" she asked.

"Forensics been in," Touya replied, "Nothing yet."

"So… what else can we do?" Nakuru demanded.

"How do you feel about interviewing witnesses?"

Nakuru sighed.

"Do I have a choice?"

The three agents turned to leave but Touya froze.

"What is it?" Yukito asked concerned.

His best friend slowly turned around, a small frown furrowing his face.

"Do you this feeling…" he began slowly.

"What feeling?" Nakuru demanded.

Touya ignored her as his dark brown eyes roamed around the room.

"Nothing… I just felt like we were being watched," he finished.

With a shrug, he turned around and walked through the door as his fellow agents exchanged puzzled glances before following him.

Neither of them realised that Touya was right… they were being watched.

* * *

Sakura cursed under her breath as her limited view of the dojo through one of the shattered windows forced her to lose sight of the three people within. She frowned to herself as a strange feeling of familiarity flooded her mind.

She was sure she had seen one of those people before…

'_Sakura?' _Tomoyo asked worriedly.

The American Angel shook herself.

"Sorry," she muttered into her phone, "I've lost sight of them."

'_Do you know who they were?' _

"Nope," Sakura sighed, "No clue… but I'm pretty sure I've met one of them before…"

'_Oh?'_

Sakura could practically see Tomoyo raising her eyebrow.

"It's nothing," Sakura said hurriedly, "Just this really weird feeling I have… it's probably me going crazy."

'_Are you sure?' _Tomoyo asked, concern evidence in her voice.

"Positive," Sakura frowned, "By the way, where's Meiling?"

'I called her just then…' Tomoyo began. 

"And?"

'_Ummm… she's going a little berserk.'_

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion.

'Apparently Lily ran into some trouble at school yesterday. Some little stuck up third grader teased her.'

Sakura gasped.

"That little…" she trailed off, "Let me guess Meiling is about two seconds away from going homicidal rage on the kid's ass."

'Took Marcus the whole of last night and some… ah…entertainment to make her stop.'

"First off… thank god and second…" Sakura grimaced, "Ew."

Tomoyo laughed.

'Yeah.'

"Look, I've got to go," Sakura told her friend, "See you later? We've got that meeting with Syaoran in the afternoon."

'Alright, see you then. Bye.'

The phone went dead as Sakura tucked it back into her jacket pocket. Throwing one last glance at the dojo, Sakura turned away and melted back into the early morning crowd unable to shake the unmistakable feeling that she had seen one of those people before.

"Curiouser, curiouser," she murmured.

With one final shake of her head, she walked away.

* * *

Marcus had seen a lot of terrible things in his lifetime but none of them could be compared to the sight of Meiling on the warpath.

"That little…" Meiling fumed slamming the cupboard door shut.

"Meiling…" Marcus began pleadingly.

Completely ignoring him, Meiling plunked herself down onto a seat as she poured herself a glass of milk.

"What kind of school allows a third grader to pick on little kids?" she demanded angrily before taking a swig of her milk, "I mean, honestly!"

Marcus sighed as he reached across the table and laid a reassuring hand on his fiancée's arm.

"Meiling," he tried again, "It's nothing big. Lily's teacher already knows and I'm pretty sure she'll handle it."

Meiling snorted.

"Yeah right," she growled, "Wait till I get my hands on that kid."

Marcus sighed.

"Honey, drop it… please?" he pleaded.

Meiling narrowed her eyes at him but fell silent.

"Anyway," Marcus said calmly trying to dispel the tension, "I really like teaching at U.C.L.A."

He glanced at his fiancée but she was silent, glaring down into her bowl of cereal.

"It's really great…"

Still no reply.

"I bet all of our savings on a horse and lost?" Marcus tried.

Meiling still remained silent, her eyes still firmly fixed on her food.

"I sold Lily off to a sweat shop downtown," Marcus continued conversationally, "Oh by the way, one of the students flirted with me so I had sex with her in the janitor's closet."

"I'll kill her," Meiling smirked glancing up to stare into Marcus's shocked eyes, "I was listening you know."

"Hmmm… and I thought you were too focused on brooding," Marcus teased.

"I'm not brooding," Meiling shot back.

Marcus cocked an eyebrow at her as Meiling sighed

"Fine, some brooding. But minimal amount."

Marcus laughed as he glanced down at his watch.

"So what are you doing today?"

"Well, since you're taking Lily to school with strict instructions to hunt down the girl who teased and kill her… I guess I'll just sloth around until I have to meet the others."

"Sounds like a plan," Marcus smiled before standing up, "I guess we better head out."

He walked around and planted a soft kiss on Meiling's lips before straightening.

"Remember hunt and destroy," Meiling ordered strictly.

With a laugh, Marcus gave her one final kiss before calling for Lily. The young girl skipped into the kitchen, school bag clutched in her hands as Meiling stood up and gave her a final kiss.

"Bye Mommy," Lily called as Marcus herded her out of the door.

Calling a final 'I love you', behind his back Marcus left the house leaving Meiling all alone.

With a sigh, Meiling got up and began clearing the dishes. She glanced up at the clock.

Four hours until the meeting.

It was going to be a long morning.

* * *

"Good morning Angels," Syaoran greeted through the speaker box.

"Good morning Syaoran," the three Angels chorused cheerfully.

"Both Aikio and Evan Solomon are refusing to speak," Syaoran informed them getting straight down to business, "However I have uncovered something unusual…"

"Unusual how?" Tomoyo asked, puzzled.

"Aikio has numerous bank accounts in many different countries. One such account… his Swiss account has recently received a large payment… ten million euros to be exact."

"Lottery win or pay day?" Sakura muttered rhetorically as Meiling sniggered.

"The payment came from a night club in Paris," Syaoran continued ignoring them, "And strangely enough, a couple of days ago a scientist, Leon Marseil, who coincidentally is connected with the documents Evan had with him was kidnapped in Paris."

"Paris?" Sakura whimpered, "Oh god."

"I know you've had some bad experience in Paris…"

"Bad?" Tomoyo shivered, "Try crazy trigger-happy commandos."

Meiling rolled her eyes.

"What're you talking about? It was fun! And this is going to be a blast!"

"Yeah, fun," Sakura and Tomoyo muttered shooting twin glares at Meiling as the Asian Angel ignored them.

"You want us to go to Paris?"

"Yes," Syaoran said calmly, "Go to Paris and scout out that club, try to find as much information as we can. We need to retrieve that scientist."

"Okay, got ya," Sakura nodded, "When do we leave?"

"In three hours."

"Thee hours?"

It was Meiling who began panicking.

"Umm… we need to investigate this as soon as possible…" Syaoran said hurriedly, "I think that's all… so goodbye Angels."

"Goodbye Syaoran," Tomoyo and Sakura said with a smile as Meiling continued to have heart palpitations.

"I though this was going to be a blast," Sakura teased.

Meiling glared at her.

"Three hours?" she huffed, "I mean, I have to pick up Lily from school but I can't because I have to be on a plane to Paris in three hours? That sounds like something from a Jerry Springer bad mothers special!"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes at her friend's melodrama.

"Calm down. Call Marcus, if he can't make it call Diana or Zachary," she said calmly, "I'm pretty sure one of them could make it."

Meiling was already in the process of dialling Marcus. With a sigh, Sakura stood up and stretched.

"Paris," she muttered under her breath, "Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like this?"

* * *

Marcus raised an eyebrow.

"Paris?" he repeated again, "You have to go to Paris."

One of his new co-workers looked up from her lecture notes as Marcus continued talking into his cell phone.

"Are you sure this isn't some weird excuse to avoid your motherly duties?" Marcus winced as Meiling began protesting loudly, "I'm joking, okay… I can make it… trust me Lily will be fine. Uh huh… okay I understand…"

Marcus sat down at he continued talking.

"Just don't do anything overly dangerous, okay? Alright, see you when you get back. Love you too."

With a sigh, Marcus disconnected the call and placed his now silent mobile onto the table. Staring thoughtfully at it, he took a sip of coffee from his cup.

"Trouble at home?" a soft voice asked, breaking through his thoughts.

Startled, Marcus looked up and stared into the concerned eyes of Sarah Harris.

"What?" he blinked at her as Sarah laughed.

Capping her pen, Sarah placed it down onto the table as she glanced at the newest law professor at U.C.L.A.

"That call… sounds like trouble at home," she clarified.

Marcus laughed and shook his head.

"Nothing too serious, my fiancée has to jet off to Paris suddenly and she was supposed to pick up our daughter after school," he shrugged, "So I got stuck with the job instead."

"Paris?" Sarah frowned, "Whoa, glamorous… what does she do?"

Marcus smiled at her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

* * *

Sakura decided right then and there plunging headfirst into a mission whilst still suffering from a massive case of jet lag wasn't the wisest decision she had ever made. Groaning in pain, she pressed a finger against the small electronic device plugged into her ear making sure that it fitted snugly.

"This sucks," she groaned.

'_Oh yeah,' _Tomoyo agreed, her crackling voice coming through on the comm-link.

"Why can't Meiling do this?" Sakura whinged.

'_Because we owe from the last mission,' _Tomoyo reminded her, '_Plus, the state she's in? Going undercover not her style.'_

"Fine," Sakura huffed, "Wish me luck."

'_Luck,' _Tomoyo replied cheerfully.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura walked into the busy Paris nightclub. Techno music instantly invaded her senses as she tried to push her way through the dancing ground. All around her, strobe lights went off into multicoloured blazes as Sakura wandered around aimlessly, her emerald eyes scanning the faces around her for anything unusual.

"Methinks this is useless," Sakura muttered into her comm-link after several seconds of fruitless searching.

'_I'm hacking into the club's security network,' _Tomoyo announced, '_Almost… wait… there!'_

"There? What there?"

'I've got blueprints of the club… there's a whole bunch of air vents and power lines that apparently goes…' Tomoyo paused, 'Nowhere.' 

"Nowhere?" Sakura repeated incredulously.

'_Definitely something weird…' _the Japanese Angel agreed.

"Where is this 'nowhere' place?"

'Underground… the club's got a basement level.'

"How do I get there?"

'Behind the stage, there's a doorway that leads down… good luck getting there.'

"I'm on it," Sakura told her.

Standing on her tiptoes, she just managed to make out the stage where a band was just setting up. With a sigh, she began ploughing her way through the crowd ignoring anyone who got in her way. Several French curses were thrown at her but Sakura ignored them, whilst memorising a few creative ones for later use.

Making it to her destination, she bit her lip as she considered her next move. A pair of burly guards patrolled the stairway leading up onto the stage, their heavily muscled forms deterring anyone from trying to get past them.

"Damn," she hissed under her breath.

Her eyes brightened as an idea came into her head. Pulling at her shirt so it hung crookedly around her body, she began stumbling towards the guards pasting a stupid grin on her face.

"Look at me!" she called drunkenly in French, "I'm flying! WHEEEEE!"

'_What the?' _Tomoyo yelped through the link as Sakura continued to lurch towards the guards.

"Want to dance?" she asked winking seductively at the guards.

They remained silent regarding her through blank eyes, Sakura pulled herself up onto their stairs still pretending to be drunk.

"This party is rocking, yeah?" she bellowed at them.

"Madam," one guard said primly, "Please get off the stairs."

Sakura pouted.

"Aww… don't you two big manly men want to play with me?"

'Sakura? What the hell are you doing?' 

"Please move," the guard tried again.

Sakura glared at them.

"Make me!" she yelled.

The two guards surged forwards as one as Sakura sniggered, her hands shot out grabbing both men by the throat. With choked cries, they tried to fight her off but Sakura's iron grip refused to budge. Throwing them a final mischievous, she slammed their heads together with brutal force. Both men went still as Sakura sniggered.

With a casual flick of her wrists, she flipped both men off the sides of the stairs dumping their bodies down onto the dance floor.

'Okay… what just happened?' Tomoyo demanded. 

"I just knocked out the guards," Sakura said calmly as she climbed up onto the stage.

Skirting around the instruments littered across the stage, Sakura ducked behind the black velvet curtain that served as a backdrop and entered the dark backstage. It took several seconds for her eyes to adjust to the gloom.

"Okay, where to now?"

'The door is to your left.'

Sakura stumbled around in the dark, her hands outstretched as she felt her way through the shadows. Finally her fingers struck something hard and metallic, grasping it tightly she twisted and smiled as the door swung open.

"Open sesame," she whispered as she studied the flight of stairs revealed by the opened door.

Throwing one last cautious glance behind her, Sakura started down the stairs. It seemed to go on forever but in reality only seconds had past as Sakura reached the bottom. She was in a dark concrete corridor, the only light coming from the flimsy fluorescent bulbs above that gave everything an eerie yellow-blue sheen.

"Tomoyo?" she whispered into her comm-link.

The only thing that reached her ears was static. Sakura grimaced.

"Damn," she sighed as she glanced at her surroundings.

A row of doors lined one concrete wall.

"What's behind door number…" Sakura paced down the hallway, her senses on high alert, "Seven?"

She tried the doorknob.

"Click, click, click."

Locked.

Sakura shrugged as she knelt down until she was at eye-level with the lock. Reaching in her clothes, she pulled out a small leather pouch. Opening up the small bag, she reached inside and pulled out several twisted metal strands. Delicately she inserted one metal lock pick into the mechanism and slid it into the place, she inserted two more and smiled as she twisted all three at once.

The door swung open.

"I am good," Sakura smirked as she pulled out her lock picks and returned them back into her pouch.

Slipping the bag back into her clothes, she walked into the room and gasped as she glanced around at the affluent furnishing. Rich carpet graced the floor, a massive chandelier hanging down from the ceiling above. Sakura's eyes roamed around the room noticing the mahogany antique furniture, each glistening with polish, and the glass ornaments that graced the bar top several metres away. She gasped as her eyes fell on the centre of the room.

A bloody figure, arms bound behind him, duct tape slapped over his mouth, his eyes wide and panicking as he stared at her. Sakura ran over to him and pulled off the gag.

"Leon Marseil?" she asked hurriedly.

The man nodded numbly as Sakura grinned at him.

"Don't worry," she said soothingly, "Hi, I'm Sakura Kinomoto and even though I look small and seems like the type of the girl who sits in beauty salons and bitch about everything all day I'm actually very experienced in this type of the stuff."

She pulled off the last of the rope as she helped him up onto his feet.

"It's okay," Leon gasped in French, "I can stand."

Sakura nodded as Leon weakly stepped away from her, shakily straightening.

"Okay, let's get out of her…" Sakura began.

The door banged open, Sakura's eyes widened in shock as a dozen men armed with semi-automatic rifles flooded into the room.

One of the men glared at her.

"DIE!"

* * *

_Present_

"Freeze bitch," the leader of the gunmen snarled into her face, anger contorting his features in a ghoulish mask of unbridled fury and hatred.

He cocked the hammer of the gun back.

"Or I'll blow your face off," he hissed.

Sakura froze.

"Who do you work for?" the man barked.

Sakura remained silent.

"Tell me!" the man screamed, "Or I'll blow your head to pieces. Who do you work for?"

Sakura smiled at him cheerfully.

"On behalf of every justice system on this planet, I'd like to…" Sakura ducked as the man fired.

The bullet tore into the wall as Sakura rammed her fist into his stomach, the man keeled over in pain as Sakura's other hand shot up in an open-palm strike that smashed into his jaw. He fell backwards, out cold as Sakura straightened.

"Kick your ass," Sakura finished coldly.

She turned to the ruined remains of the bar as Leon fearfully crawled out of his shelter.

"Come on," she told the man helping him up, "We better get out of here."

Herding the man in front of her, she pushed him towards the stairway leading up to the stage and helped him up. Soon they were back in the darkness of the backstage.

'…_the hell are you?' _Tomoyo's voice boomed in her ears once again as Sakura winced at the volume.

"I'm here."

'What happened?' 

"Underground… signal mustn't be strong enough. Anyway I got Leon, we need to get him out of here."

'_Okay…' _Tomoyo began.

Sakura froze as she heard voices.

"Spread out!" a man's voice boomed, "Find them!"

"Shit," Sakura pushed Leon behind a stack of crates as she too ducked behind them.

Pushing the man down, she peeked through a small gap between two crates as a flurry of man marched past.

One of them was talking loudly.

"Find them!" he roared, "Find them now!"

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw his face. Dark burning eyes that glittered in the darkness set below short-cropped black hair, a vindictive sneer curving his thin lips. He moved like a king, arrogance rolling off his slim body in almost tangible waves.

"Oh my god," she whispered ducking behind the crates again.

'Sakura?' Tomoyo called worriedly, 'What's wrong?' 

"I know who's behind this," Sakura whispered back into her comm-link.

Tomoyo was startled. 'What? Who?' 

Sakura glanced at the familiar man again as she whispered his name.

"Anthony Collins."

Next chapter: A familiar face returns in Anthony Collins as Sakura remains trapped in the nightclub with him and the rest of his Cobra Mark cronies. A new enemy appears as the Angels are forced to battle against their old enemy. Find out what happens next in... _Cobra Mark_


	4. Cobra Mark

Yay! I'm back, sorry for the delays but here's the final two chapters before I start posting new stuff… remember… more reviews more chapters!

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 3: Cobra Mark**

Sakura's eyes widened as she saw his face. Dark burning eyes that glittered in the darkness set below short-cropped black hair, a vindictive sneer curving his thin lips. He moved like a king, arrogance rolling off his slim body in almost tangible waves.

"Oh my god," she whispered ducking behind the crates again.

_'Sakura?'_ Tomoyo called worriedly, _'What's wrong?'_

"I know who's behind this," Sakura whispered back into her comm-link.

Tomoyo was startled._ 'What? Who?'_

Sakura glanced at the familiar man again as she whispered his name.

"Anthony Collins."

* * *

"What?" Tomoyo yelped as she heard Sakura's revelation, "Oh man, this can't be good."

She typed hurriedly into her laptop, quickly hacking into their security cameras. Pulling up window after window she finally managed to get a live feed to the backstage of the Paris nightclub.

"Sakura, numerous bad guys. They're patrolling the area but they can't see you from where they are," Tomoyo bit her lip, "I've jammed the cameras so they can't access it themselves. But you're trapped… they've sealed off the exits you'll have to fight your way out. They're wearing black so…"

'_They're almost invisible?' _Sakura's voice filtered through the comm-link.

"Yeah," Tomoyo replied distractedly as she continued spying through the security camera, "There're no lights I can turn on… sorry."

'_Not your fault,' _Sakura sighed, '_Anything else?'_

"There's a fire extinguisher to your right… about three metres away. There's a whole bunch of electrical cables running down from the spotlights on the roof… so watch out for those," Tomoyo studied the battlefield carefully, "There's also a few rope and pulley systems dangling down as well… I think they're for hoisting things up onto the ceiling."

"_Alright. Thanks.'_

"I'm sending Meiling over… do you want me to come as well?"

'No, keep watching us. I need you to watch my back. I can hardly see anything in the dark.'

"Alright, good luck. Hold tight try to hide until Meiling comes," Tomoyo told her fellow Angel, "Be careful, there's a lot of them around."

'Don't worry. I'll lay low unti…'

A flurry of movement on the laptop screen caught Tomoyo's eyes.

"SAKURA! WATCH OUT!"

* * *

'SAKURA! WATCH OUT!'

Sakura looked up hurriedly as someone jumped on top of the stack of crates that hid them from view. She gaped in shock as she studied the shadowy silhouette towering above them.

"Jeez… Power Rangers much?" she quipped studying the intruder.

A white leather jumpsuit decorated with black and purple stripes hid a slim feminine figure, which was slowly moving into an aggressive battle stance. A visor of black plastic stared down at them, the woman's head was protected by a white helmet that also served as a mask. Sakura and Leon stared up at the woman as she struck a stance, every muscle in her body pounced to attack.

Sakura shoved Leon down.

"Keep low," she whispered.

The helmeted woman jumped down at them, her left leg lashing out in a flying kick. Sakura grabbed the woman's booted foot and threw her away. She crashed into a stack of crates, disappearing under an avalanche of wood as Anthony and his men whirled on them.

"GET HER!"

Sakura leapt away from their hiding place leaving Leon behind to cower in the darkness as the men charged at her. A flash of dull metal warned Sakura as she neatly sidestepped a wild swipe, brass knuckles narrowly missed her body as Sakura spun around in a half-twirl kicking the man in the face before she leapt into a full flip over his head. A second kick hammered into his back as he went down.

A second black-suited man charged with a scream, throw a wild combo of karate chops at her. Sakura deftly blocked each other batting his hands away before grabbing him by the wrist and twisted it sharply. A dull crack signalled the breaking of bones as the man screamed in pain.

Sakura head butted him roughly leaving him unconscious as she staggered backwards, wincing and rubbing her head gingerly.

"Ow… hard head," she groaned as she straightened to meet her next attacker.

A powerful right hook slammed into her chest sending her stumbling backwards, wincing in pain as she steadied herself. Glancing down at her feet, she snaked her left foot forwards hooking the tip of her toes under one wooden crate. With a small flick, she kicked the crate up into her hands before throwing it forwards clipping her attacker in the jaw. The man fell backwards as Sakura leapt into a small hop kicking the man in the face.

He hit the ground as Sakura landed, whipping her hands around before bringing it in front of her chest in a boxer's pose.

"Oh, come on," she drawled, "You can't leave a lady waiting."

Anthony Collin's glared at her, fury and hatred causing his eyes to burn. He gritted his teeth before pointing one shaking finger at her.

"KILL HER!" he snarled.

Sakura felt movement behind her. Reacting on pure reflex and instinct, she ducked as the helmeted woman tried to throw a left hook right at her head. Still in the movement of ducking, she whirled around rabbit-punching the woman in the gut sending her stumbling backwards.

"Trying to get me from behind?" Sakura demanded, "Wow, how very coward of you!"

In response, the woman straightened.

"Okay, Lady in White," Sakura drawled, "Show me what you've got."

Anthony laughed as the woman remained silent.

"Show her," he commanded.

The White Lady reached behind her back and pulled out two gleaming silver objects, Sakura gulped at the sight of the weapons.

"Me and my big mouth," she muttered as the White Lady whipped the two katana-style daggers around at high-speed, a flurry of silver in the darkness.

Still whirling the daggers around, the White Lady took a step forwards as Sakura backed away hurriedly, eyeing the daggers wearily. She suddenly charged forwards as Sakura ducked.

One dagger slashed the air above her head as she thrust the other at Sakura's gut. The American Angel ducked as she grabbed the woman's wrist blocking her attempt to shove the metal into her stomach. Her other hand lashed forwards backhanding the woman in the face but winced in pain as she bruises her knuckles against the hard armour of the woman's helmet. Sakura threw herself into a back flip as the White Lady slashed at her body.

Both blades narrowly missed her torso as Sakura landed, lashing out with her feet at the woman's left knee. The woman's left arm shot forwards blocking the blow as she slashed at Sakura with her right dagger.

Metal bit into Sakura's cheek as the Angel gasped in pain. Anthony cackled with amusement as Sakura stumbled backwards, clutching her bleeding wound in pain.

"Ouch," she hissed.

The White Lady came at her again, her knives slicing the air over and over again as Sakura threw herself into another flip to avoid the blades. This time, the left dagger nicked her leg as Sakura landed.

The woman charged again, swinging both knives around as Sakura threw herself to the left tucking herself into a roll. Jumping up she grabbed a nearby crate as the White Lady charged again.

"HIYA!" Sakura cried shoving the crate forwards.

Metal struck wood as Sakura smirked into the woman's face. The knives were embedded deep into the wood. Twisting the crate, Sakura dragged the blades away from the woman before throwing it somewhere to the side. Grabbing a nearby electrical cable, Sakura leapt off the ground swinging around in a full arc before kicking the woman in the back.

The White Lady stumbled forwards, arms cart-wheeling around frantically as Sakura skidded across the ground.

Anthony roared with fury and frustration.

"You know all this getting pissed off can't be good for the blood pressure level," Sakura smirked, "You may want to calm down. Nice ocean noises always help… you know, kwissshhhh…"

"I'm gonna kill you!" Anthony snarled.

"Oh, you don't like the ocean?" Sakura taunted, "How about the sound of me kicking your ass?"

"Scary," Anthony drawled.

He clicked his fingers as a veritable army of men emerged from the shadows behind him.

"One little girl against an army of men," Anthony smirked, "I like my odds."

"Jeez, sexist much… hey! Maybe that's why you don't have a girlfriend!" Sakura exclaimed brightly.

Anthony snorted.

"Oh please, the taunting, witty foreplay banter part of the fight?"

A vicious grin unfurled across his lips.

"Not my favourite."

"Let me guess, your favourite is the death scene?"

Anthony continued to grin at her as he took a threatening step forwards.

"Bingo."

Sakura slowly reached behind her as Anthony Collins continued to smirk at her victoriously.

"Shoot her," he whispered.

The men opened fire.

* * *

Meiling sighed as she studied her surroundings. Two dilapidated brick walls decorated with sprawling graffiti stood as borders for a narrow dirty alleyway, a filthy olfactory dumpster being the main attraction.

"This is so glamorous… not," Meiling muttered, "And how come the brochure never showed me this?"

'MEILING!'

The Asian Angel jumped as Tomoyo's voice blared into her ears.

'Meiling, Sakura needs help. NOW!' Tomoyo commanded.

"On it," Meiling replied quickly as she ran into the dark alleyway.

Turning a sharp left, she reached a small metal door, its rusty surface decorated with neon graffiti that almost glowed in the dim light. Taking a deep breath, Meiling took a step backwards before lashing out with a powerful kick.

The door instantly popped open as Meiling charged into the darkness.

"Hang on, Sakura," Meiling mumbled, "Here I come."

The sound of gunfire filled the air.

* * *

Sakura smiled at them.

"Sorry boys," she smirked, "Wrong level."

She wrapped her fingers around the electric cable and lashed out with her foot hitting a support post behind her, she instantly took off folding in her legs for minimum air resistance. Bullets zipped through the air all around her, sometimes only missing by mere inches as Sakura flew through the air.

She let go of the cable and threw herself into a flip gaining extra momentum. Her left hand shot out, snagging the edge of a metal rail as she swung the rest of her body up onto the metal girder.

She glanced around her surroundings as bullets struck the metal beam, bouncing off in a firework of sparks each time they hit. She was perched in the middle of a complex metal rafter that extended over the backstage and jutting up onto the stage, it was here that all the spotlights and strobe lights were located shining down on the club below. Sakura grinned as she nimbly ran across one beam as bullets continued to hammer the metal strut, reaching one spotlight that glared out onto the stage she gave it a firm kick.

The spotlight wobbled but held firm as Sakura tried again putting more force into her blow. The whole machine popped out from its mooring as Sakura grinned giving it a final kick sending it off the rafters, it sailed off into the dark abyss of the backstage as Sakura waited.

"BOOM!"

The light device struck the ground with deadly force spraying everyone with broken glass and twisted metal. Bright sparks sprayed the air, blinking everyone below as Sakura leapt into action. Taking advantage of the confusion, Sakura leapt forwards snagging one cable and expertly slid down its length. Stopping halfway, she threw herself into a freefall body slamming one half-blinded gunmen in the process. They both hit the ground as Sakura leapt up finishing the man off with a kick to the head. He slumped to the floor, out cold as Sakura grabbed a nearby crate hurling it at another man.

It crashed into his head, exploding into splinters on impact as Sakura reached behind her and grabbed a heavy metal pulley that was suspended by a thick rope that snaked up into the rafters above.

She hurled it with all her force. It slammed into one man's face breaking his nose with a dull crunch as he went down. The rope jerked it backwards as it swung neatly back into her hands.

"A weapon that comes back to you," Sakura whistled appreciatively, "Neat."

'Sakura!' Tomoyo's voice boomed in her ears, 'DUCK!'

Sakura hit the ground as two silver blades flashed past overhead, shredding the rope. The heavy metal pulley fell to the ground, bereft of support as Sakura kicked out at the White Lady's legs. The helmeted woman fell to the ground as Sakura flipped back up onto her feet.

"Oh man," she muttered as the woman expertly executed a flip, landing solidly on her booted feet.

Both daggers were pointed at her, razor sharp edges gleaming dangerously as Sakura eyed them warily. The woman remained silent, face hidden by a black visor.

"Energizer bunny much?" Sakura wondered, "Just keeping on coming and coming, huh?"

In response the woman charged forwards, blades whipping around at high speed. Sakura twisted around awkwardly, one blade missing her shoulder as the other breezed past her torso, razor edge slicing through the fabric of her shirt. She elbowed the woman in the face forcing her back as she straightened again, wincing at the sight of her shirt.

"Way too close," she muttered as the woman charged again.

Sakura hurriedly grabbed the metal pulley from the ground, swinging it by the shredded rope that dangled from its top. Whipping her makeshift weapon around, Sakura met the woman face on.

The metal smashed into one gloved hand as Sakura lashed out with her foot attacking the injured hand again, the woman stumbled backwards as the knife flew from her battered fingers. Sakura leapt into a spin, whipping the pulley around, the woman ducked instantly popping back up to slash at Sakura with the other knife.

The American Angel let out a hiss of pain as the metal slid into her skin tearing a long narrow cut along her arm.

"Ow," she gritted as she swung the pulley around again.

The woman's hand snaked out grabbing her wrist and blocking her attack as she shoved the blade of the knife at her.

Sakura threw herself into a back flip breaking free from the woman's grasp and narrowly missed being impaled through the chest as she nimbly landed, ready for more.

The woman slashed at her again as Sakura blocked her arm throwing a quick right hook at the woman's chest hitting her solidly, the White Lady stumbled backward as Sakura jumped up hitting her with a roundhouse kick to the head.

"Gotcha," Sakura smirked as the woman's head snapped to the side.

With amazing recovery, the woman straightened driving the blade right at Sakura's face. Acting on a cocktail of adrenaline and instinct, Sakura threw her arms in front of her crossing them to protect her as the blade flashed through the darkness.

Her arms scissored the woman's wrist blocking the blade as Sakura smirked at her. Tightening her grip, Sakura twisted her arms. The woman was knocked off her feet as she tried to flip in mid-air to soften the landing but Sakura never let her.

Dropping her arm, Sakura spun around in a roundhouse kick that slammed into the woman's chest.

She flew through the air landing with a crash amongst a pile of crates as Sakura smirked.

"And guess who's left stand…"

"BAM!"

A bullet slammed into the floor just in front of her feet. Sakura whirled around only to find Anthony Collins was glaring at her, a black gun clutched in his hands.

He pulled the trigger again as Sakura jumped backwards, the bullet slammed into the ground again tearing a rough hole in the floorboards.

"Stop moving!" Anthony snarled as he fired again.

It missed as Sakura ducked.

"Do I get a medal if I do?" Sakura called.

"No," Anthony smirked at her, "But you get some fireworks."

"Fireworks?" Sakura mumbled to her self as she straightened, "What fire…"

Her eyes widened as Anthony stepped aside revealing the man standing behind him. Anthony smirked at her as he clicked his fingers.

"Begin," he commanded.

A tongue of flame gushed out from the end of the flamethrower as Sakura ran for her life, Anthony's crony took a dangerous step forwards, the flamethrower in his hands shooting out blast after blast of fire.

"TOMOYO! Where's Meiling?" Sakura yelped, "I need help now!"

_'Ummm…'_

"Right here."

Sakura looked up.

"Meiling," she gasped in relief, "What took you so long?"

The Asian Angel smiled at her.

"The crowd outside started panicking and running, I had to fight my way through them," she glanced over Sakura's shoulders and at the flamethrower wielding crony, "Guess it's my turn to step up?"

Sakura stared at her incredulously.

"Be my guest," she finally replied weakly.

Meiling merely nodded as she faced the flamethrower, the blue flames coming dangerously close to her body, ignoring the heat Meiling smirked at the man.

"Don't play with fire," she warned dangerously.

With that she leapt into action.

* * *

Tomoyo gaped at the sight of the flamethrower.

"Oh my go…"

_'TOMOYO! Where's Meiling? I need help now!'_

Tomoyo shook herself as she desperately pulled up another security camera feed but all it showed was stampeding partygoers trying to flee the battle.

"Ummm…"

'Right here.'

The Japanese Angel breathed a sigh of relief as Meiling's voice filtered through the comm-link. However that feeling quickly faded when the Asian Angel leapt straight at the flamethrower-wielding maniac.

"GOD DAMN IT!" she screamed at the laptop, "MEILING! STOP! SAKURA! Grab the fire extinguisher! Help her!"

'_On it,' _Sakura replied calmly as she too leapt into action.

And all Tomoyo could do was watch and hope.

Meiling's arm shot to her left as the man turned on her, flamethrower in full action, blue flames lashing the air. She grabbed onto an electric cable and swung around in a wild arc as the man tried to bring the unwieldy weapon around.

Somewhere behind her, Sakura scrabbled through the darkness almost tripping over a crate as she ran towards the fire extinguisher.

"GET HER!" Anthony bellowed as Meiling swung around on the cable.

Flames blasted the wall beside her, narrowly missing her lithe form as Meiling leapt onto another nearby cable. Without missing a beat, she swept down low on the cable swinging until her feet brushed up against the floorboards.

"HIYA!" she cried as her feet crashed into a crate.

The wooden box popped up into the air and sailed towards her attacker as he tried to bring the flamethrower around. Fire struck the wood as the box instantly burst into flames however its trajectory was still strong. The man back-pedalled hurriedly trying to avoid being hit by the flaming crate and that's when Meiling struck.

With a cry she let go of the cable and hit the ground, her body easily sliding over the smooth floorboards. Flame gushed above her, narrowly missing her body as Meiling slid towards the man. Lashing out with both legs, she caught him with a leg-sweep sending him crashing to the ground.

The flamethrower leapt out of his hands and went berserk spraying fire everywhere, Meiling yelped in pain as a spark of fire struck her arm.

"DAMN IT!"

"HANG ON!" Sakura yelled leaping in front of her.

She released the fire extinguisher, white foam gushing out from the nozzle, it struck the flames and sizzled loudly as Meiling scrambled to her feet, sending a final kick to the man's head knocking him out. The flamethrower died down as Sakura continued to spray it down.

"TURN IT OFF!" she barked at Meiling as she fought the flames.

Meiling wrenched the man's hands away from the trigger and breathed a sigh of relief, as the flamethrower shot out a final glowing ember before turning silent.

"That was fun," Meiling muttered looking around.

"Fire," Sakura said calmly.

"It's gone," Meiling replied looking at her friend strangely.

"Really?" Sakura asked dryly gesturing all around them.

Meiling looked around and gulped as she realised that they were surrounding by a ring of fire, the flamethrower's out of control firing had set everything alit.

"Run?" Meiling asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Run."

Calmly Sakura fired the fire extinguisher one more time temporarily stopping a small patch of fire as the girls leapt through, wincing as blasts of superheated air struck their skin. They raced towards the entrance leading out to the stage as Sakura charged into her hiding spot, grabbing an almost catatonic Leon Marseil. Dragging the whimpering man behind her, Meiling and Sakura ran out onto the stage.

The club was in completely disarray, tables and chairs overturned and lying on their sides, all the patrons had left, running for their lives when the gunfire had began.

"Well, this makes it so much eas…" Sakura began looking around at the empty club.

"BANG!"

"SAKURA!" Meiling cried desperately.

The American Angel stumbled forwards as she felt an incredible force shove her body almost sending her over the stage. Trembling, she reached behind her and her fingers felt something warm and wet.

Praying silently that it was not what she thought it was, Sakura held it up to her eyes.

Her fingers were covered in red.

"Oh god."

* * *

Tomoyo breathed a sigh of relief as Meiling took down the flamethrower-wielding maniac however the ordeal was far from over. She watched on anxiously as flames began to engulf the empty nightclub forcing her two friends plus Leon to run for their lives.

"Please," she whispered, "Make it…"

Her eyes widened as she saw Sakura's body flinch as the sound of gunshots ripped through the headphones piercing her ears.

"SAKURA!"

* * *

"SAKURA!" Meiling gaped at her friend, "Sakura! Are you oka…"  
Sakura stared down at her blood-covered hands, blinking in confusion.

"Wha…"

She realised she felt no pain, moving as tough in a dream she turned to stare into Leon Marseil's face.

His skin was deadly pale, his eyes opened impossibly wide, a trail of blood was tricking steadily from the corner of his mouth. Sakura gasped as she realised that bullet had not struck her but him.

"Oh god," she whispered as she roughly turned the man around trying to see the wound.

Meiling winced as she saw the bloody hole torn into the man's back.

"Here," she said reaching forwards and placing a hand on the wound.

She pressed down, applying pressure to the gaping hole as she tried to stop the blood flow. But it was too strong, trickles of red soon spilling over her fingers and down her arm.

"DAMN IT!" Anthony Collin's voice boomed from behind them, cutting through the noise of crackling fire as Sakura and Meiling whirled around, "Missed. Curse my luck."

"You bastard," Sakura spat as Anthony raised his gun again.

"Hey, sweetie, I'm the one with the gun… what makes you think you should be the one calling out insults?"

"Jeez, maybe it's because I'm honest?" Sakura shot back.

"Bitch!"

Anthony swung the gun until it pointed straight at her chest. Sakura stared calmly down at the barrel of the gun refusing to show even the slightest bit of fear in front of this monster disguised for a pathetic excuse of a man. His whole body was shaking by now, shaking with barely suppressed rage. This caused the weapon to tremble dangerously in his hands.

"Hey," Meiling said calmly.

Anthony turned to look at her.

Meiling had grabbed a discarded vodka bottle from the ground, she was now holding it up in her hands showing it to him as a devilish smirk flashed across her face.

"Why don't we settle this…" Meiling's grin grew wider, "Over a drink?"

She hurled the bottle at Anthony as the man ducked, firing the gun in the process. In this panic the shot went wild striking the ceiling as the bottle sailed over his head and into the flames behind him. The flammable alcohol immediately exploded spraying the man with burning glass as Meiling smirked at him.

"Get it… drink?" she taunted as she charged at him.

She took a wild right hook at the man but a white-gloved hand blocked her attack. Meiling found herself staring into black visor.

The White Lady was back.

Her once pristine white jumpsuit was now streaked with ash and soot but she was still up and fighting. Meiling threw her left arm around trying to catch the woman unawares but the White Lady ducked allowing the strike to sail past overhead a she head-butted Meiling in the gut. The attack sent the Asian Angel stumbling over the edge of the stage as Sakura tried desperately to keep Leon alive, trying to apply pressure to his bleeding wound as she tried to move away from the White Lady at the same time.

The lady charged at her as Sakura leapt off the stage dragging Leon with her, they landed in a messy sprawl as Meiling flipped back up to her feet just in time to block a powerful roundhouse kick that would've struck Sakura across the face. Grabbing the woman's foot, Meiling hurled the woman across the empty dance floor smiling in satisfaction as her body struck the wall and bounced off lightly.

"Come on," Meiling growled helping Sakura up, "Let's get out of here."

Anthony by now had leapt off the stage as flames quickly devoured that part of the building, but he was weapon-less forced to glower at the Angels with hatred burning in his eyes as he allowed the White Lady to fight for him.

"What's from Anthony sweetie?" Meiling drawled, "Afraid to take on two little girls?"

"Kill her," Anthony spat, hatred distorting his voice to a guttural growl as the White Lady charged at them again.

Meiling blocked her first punch as a second one struck her in the face. She stumbled backwards as the White Lady leapt into a flying spin, kicking her in the chest. Watching on helplessly as her friend struggled to keep up with the woman's powerful attack, Sakura looked down at the dying man in her arms.

"Sorry," she whispered as she gently lowered Leon down on the ground.

Nimbly she leapt over his body as she charged at the fighting pair, with a cry she leapt into the air grabbing onto a nearby pole and swinging her body around like an experienced pole dancer. Both legs lashed out catching the White Lady in the chest as the woman sailed through the air crashing into the back of the bar. She fell to the ground as multi-coloured liquid and glass rain down on her battered body, Meiling and Sakura waited for any sign of movement.

There was none.

"Well, looks like it's just us and you," Sakura growled turning back to Anthony.

"Actually," Anthony smirked as flames chewed up more of the club, "Me and you and them…"

The pounding of multiple footsteps filled the air as the Angels looked around in surprise, a door hidden by a black velvet curtain along one wall burst open as at least fifty men poured into the room, each one armed to the teeth with guns.

The Angels looked around, their eyes flicking over their opponents. Sakura glanced at Meiling.

"Too many," she whispered.

"I know," came the terse reply.

Sakura gently knelt down and touched Leon's faces gently.

"I'm sorry Mr. Marseil," she said sincerely, "I can't…"

"Don't worry," the dying scientist managed to choke out, "Don't let them get it…"

He forced himself to sit up until his lips were brushing up against her ears.

"Epsilon… you need to…" he whispered, in a low voice so that only she could hear him.

His voice failed as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed. Sakura closed her eyes and silently mourned the death of a man she had only met just minutes ago, she slowly stood up her eyes blazing with fury.

"Bastards," she snarled.

"Aww… wasn't that just touching?" Anthony drawled, "What was he doing whispering sweet nothings in your ear? Don't worry you'll be joining him soon… KILL THEM!"

All the men raised their guns to fire but something beat them all first.

"BOOM!"

Sakura and Meiling jumped as the front wall of the club exploded inwards as something heavy and fast ploughed straight into it, several men were thrown aside brutally as the speeding object slammed right into them without stopping. Meiling and Sakura stared at the carnage.

"GET IN!" Tomoyo roared from their van, which she had just used to plough through the front wall, "HURRY!"

The men opened fired as bullets struck the van, the specially designed vehicle able to withstand the barrage as bullets bounced off its metal surface with a burst of sparks.

Tomoyo jerked one door open as Sakura and Meiling hurriedly piled in in a tangle of limbs as bullets continue to hammer the vehicle. Without even blinking, Tomoyo jerked the car into reverse and hit the gas.

The van slammed into the ruined remains of the wall tearing out even more bricks and mortar as bullets slammed into the windshield, the bullet-proof glass beginning to crack under the assault.

Acting as though she was out for a normal Sunday drive, Tomoyo swung the car in a wild arc and moved it into gear. Hitting the gas, they tore down the street as the armed men poured out from the burning ruins of the club firing at their retreating back, Anthony Collins were among them screaming in fury.

In the van, a small silence fell over the three Angels. Tomoyo concentrating on her driving, Meiling mourning over the fact she didn't get a chance to beat Anthony Collins up into a bloody pulp and Sakura silently grieving over the needless death of Leon Marseil.

It was Tomoyo who spoke up first.

"So… do you think we can ever come here without causing mass damage?"

Laughter filled the van as Meiling winked at her friend.

"Hell no."

The laugher slowly subsided as each Angel retreated back into themselves.

"So what do we do now?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura looked up, her emerald eyes blazing. Her face was set, her lips pressed together in a sign of cold determination.

When she spoke, her voice was low and commanding.

"To see a friend."

Meiling and Tomoyo stared at each other.

Friend?

* * *

Next chapter:

The Angels contact an old ally as their adventure in Paris draws to a close. A giant battle and more mysteries emerges as enemies are defeated and new enemies are made. Find out what happens next in… _the French Connection_


	5. The French Connection

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 4: The French Connection**

'_Friend?'_

"Okay, friend may have been a slight exaggeration," Sakura shrugged, "Maybe more of an acquaintance."

Syaoran was silent as Sakura pressed the phone closer to her ear.

'_How will this acquaintance help you?'_

"Well, Anthony has an army and he has an army. I'm thinking army meets army… massacre, massacre, massacre… in the confusion we go after Collins."

'_Are you sure he will help?'_

"Knowing their history? Hell yeah."

'_Okay, just be careful,'_ Syaoran sighed.

"Always."

'_Goodbye Sakura.'_

"Goodbye Syaoran," Sakura chirped as she hung up.

She turned to her friends.

"So what did he say?" Meiling asked turning around to look at her friend.

A cold smile unfurled across Sakura's face.

"Let's go."

AAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang sighed as he put down the phone and pull the voice distorter away. Tucking the device away into his drawer, he leaned back into his chair and rubbed his eyes.

Anyone who looked at him could easily tell that he hadn't gotten enough sleep, his eyes were bloodshot and weary but by now he was used to it. Every time he sent the Angels away on a mission he would go through the same ritual of not going without sleep until they were safely back, alive and well.

Xiaolang sighed as he got up.

It had gotten worse ever since he had started dating Sakura, it almost killed him to send her out but he knew that's what she chose to do.

Sakura was a fighter, willing to stand up to any injustice, willing to fight to the very bitter end with every ounce of her strength in her body and would stop at nothing to ensure that the world and people in it was safe.

No obstacle was too hard.

No enemy was too powerful.

And no one, absolutely no one deserved to get away for committing crime.

She was a hero.

All the Angels were heroes and Xiaolang knew that in these trying times, they were needed.

And that's why he forced himself to send them on mission.

Because someone had to do the impossible, to beat back the enemies.

Syaoran sighed.

"Be careful, my love."

AAAAAAAA

Tomoyo and Meiling exchanged worried glances as they sped through one of Paris's many roads in a new car. All around them other vehicles flashed past, headlights blazing, speed making them a streak of neon colour in the darkness of night.

"Sakura… umm…" Tomoyo broached, "Do you want to tell us who's this 'friend'? And how do we contact him…or her?"

Sakura stirred in the backseat where she had been sleeping, the fight in the nightclub had drained her of her energy. Once the adrenaline pumping through her body had faded away, weariness had struck her body like a truck almost instantly driving her into the peacefulness of sleep. Even now, her emerald eyes were hazy with tiredness as she slowly sat up blinking slowly trying to orientate herself.

"Sakura?"

The American Angel smothered a yawn as she glanced at her friends; both of them were in the front seat. Tomoyo was driving with Meiling sitting shotgun, Meiling was twisted around studying her friend with worried eyes.

"I'm fine," Sakura murmured before turning to Tomoyo, "What was that, Tomoyo?"

"How do we contact you friend?"

A sheepish look appeared on Sakura's face.

"Ahhh…" the Angel hedged as she fidgeted nervously, "About that…"

"What is it?" Tomoyo sighed.

"He's not so much a friend… more someone we know…"

"We know?" Meiling asked cocking an eyebrow, "Who on earth do we know who's in Paris who could hel… OH!"

Tomoyo glanced at her.

"Oh?" she demanded, "Oh what?"

Meiling ignored her as she began arguing with Sakura.

"You're serious?" she yelped, "You're absolutely serious about this?"

Sakura shrugged.

"It's a bad idea…"

"Bad idea? That's like saying World War II was a little spat!"

"But he will help us!" Sakura countered.

Meiling snorted.

"Yeah, but at what cost?" Meiling argued.

Tomoyo growled in frustration as she hit the horn loudly forcing the escalating argument to come to a screeching halt.

"OKAY!" she yelled, voice booming, "STOP! Just stop… will one of you please tell me who the hell are we going to see?"

"Umm… remember London?" Sakura began.

"London? When?"

"When we were looking for Yue's clue," Meiling said helpfully, "You know? The first time we saw Anthony Collins."

"So…" Tomoyo's eyes widened, "WHAT?"

"Oh yeah," Meiling drawled, "She knows."

"Sakura, did you hit your head or something?" Tomoyo cried, "There's no way…"

"But he'll definitely help us," Sakura said calmly.

Tomoyo bit her lip as she contemplated this little nugget of information.

"Okay, true but still…"

"And please, I think we can handle him and his cronies," Sakura continued.

"Fine," Tomoyo sighed, "But how do we interest him?"

"Just mention Collins," Sakura explained, "But the problem is we need to know if Anthony Collins managed to get anything out of…"

She trailed off as her eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.

"Leon," she finished shortly, "We need to find out…"  
Tomoyo frowned.

"Okay, in order to do this we need to get his files or computers or whatever," she glanced out at the road, mind working furiously, "We need to strike a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Meiling demanded.

"Files and computers for information," Tomoyo nodded, "Yeah… that's the best plan."

"What kind of information?" Sakura asked frowning, "We don't hav…"

"Anthony Collin's location."

"But we don't know his loc…" Meiling trailed off as Tomoyo smiled at her.

"Not yet."

Meiling and Sakura gulped at the fierce smile on Tomoyo's face as she turned back to her driving.

"But we soon will…"

Tomoyo had a plan.

AAAAAAAAAA

Marcus sighed wearily as he closed the door to his daughter's bedroom before trudging towards his own, fully aware of the dull silence that had descended onto the household. It wasn't an unusual occurrence, it happened every time Meiling was away on a mission. Without her here, this whole house… him and Lily just didn't feel… right.

It was like something was missing.

The man smiled crookedly as he realised just how clichéd that sound. But it was true. Meiling was everything to him.

He glanced outside the window and looked up into the dark night's sky. He hoped that whatever she was, she was safe.

"Come back to me," he whispered, "Come back."

And with that he turned off the lights plunging him into darkness.

AAAAAAAAAA

Sakura glanced out the windshield and sighed in frustration.

"There're cops everywhere," the American Angel pointed out, stating the obvious, "How on earth are we supposed to do anything?"

Tomoyo studied the scene before them, a myriad of blue and red flashing lights surrounded the burned out shell of the Paris nightclub. Even as they watched, a fire crew directed a final jet of water at the ruin extinguishing the last of the blaze. The police were everywhere, swarming around the streets and cars obviously beginning their investigation into the mysterious club fire.

"I've got a plan," Tomoyo said calmly.

"Uh-huh," Meiling muttered dryly, "And how does this plan work with your other oh-so-brilliant plan?"

"They're the same plan."

"And what plan is that?" Sakura demanded.

"A complex plan that will achieve what we want," Tomoyo said vaguely.

"In order words, you have no idea," Meiling sighed.

Tomoyo shrugged.

"None at all."

The other two Angels deflated as Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I do have a plan," she shook her head as she began explaining, "The club's obviously been burnt to the ground…"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"The presence of the fire engines, smoke and a giant honking burnt out shell seems to suggest that," she muttered, "And oh wait! We were inside when it began burning. Your point being?"

Tomoyo sighed.

"But as you know… since you were there," Tomoyo shot her friend an annoyed glare, "That there's a basement. And the fire wouldn't have reached that…"

"So?"

"Oh my god!" Tomoyo snapped exasperated, "Let me finish!"

"Alright… teacher," Meiling smirked.

Tomoyo shot her a death glare but continued anyway.

"We search the basement for clues," she finished.

"Okay," Sakura nodded, "Sounds good, reasonable and not suicidal… all ticks in my column but one little hitch, how do we get inside… there's police everywhere."

"How do you feel about prank calls?" Tomoyo asked innocently.

"Huh?" Meiling and Sakura stared at her.

A mischievous smile unfurled across Tomoyo's face as leaned across the car and opened up the glove box. Meiling scooted backwards as Tomoyo pulled a small dark object out.

"Pass me, my laptop please," Tomoyo said sweetly smiling at Sakura as the Angel narrowed her eyes suspiciously but did as she asked.

Opening the laptop up, Tomoyo connected one of the dangling cables up to the dark object in her hand. Setting the device down onto her lap, she turned both the laptop and the device on.

A faint crackling sound filled the air as Tomoyo began typing away at her computer.

"What is that thing?" Meiling asked curiously.

"A scanner," Tomoyo said calmly, "A frequency scanner. It allows my laptop to hack into the any radio frequency…"

"Including the police radios!" Sakura gasped as Tomoyo smiled at her sweetly.

"Exactly."

The device emitted a small beep as a flurry of static distorted faces filled the car. It was in French so only Sakura could fully understand it.

"I'm in?" Tomoyo asked.

"You're in."

The Japanese Angel smiled as she nodded.

"Good," she handed the scanner over to Sakura, "Press that button and you can speak into it. The police radios will broadcast whatever you're saying."

Sakura stared at the scanner, an incredulous look on her face.

"What should I say?" she asked.

Tomoyo shrugged.

"Something that will get rid of the police."

An evil smile appeared on Sakura's face as she pressed the button and began speaking in a flurry of French. Meiling and Tomoyo could only hear bits of pieces of it but the words 'Arc de Triomphe' appeared over and over again. Once she was done, Sakura handed the scanner back to Tomoyo and leaned forwards eagerly.

The three Angels watched in amazement as the police began rushing back to their guns, a cacophony of whirring engines filled the air followed by the scream of rubber raging against asphalt. In under five minutes all the cars were gone leaving behind the still smoky club behind, unguarded.

A small silence filled the car.

"What did you say?" Meiling said finally.

"Oh nothing," Sakura smirked, "Just some vague missive about a possible attack on the Arc de Triomphe…"

Meiling and Tomoyo stared at her in shock as Sakura blinked innocently back at them.

"What?"

"Wasn't that a bit… much?" Meiling finally managed.

Sakura shrugged.

"It worked didn't it? I know if my have been a little melodramatic…"

"Yeah, try O.C. and Melrose's Place melodramatic!" Tomoyo cried but Sakura was unrepentant.

"Anyhow," she began to get out of the car, "The cops will be back once they realise it was fake… coming?"

Meiling and Tomoyo could only shake their head as they followed their friend to the burnt out nightclub.

AAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang a.k.a. Syaoran sighed as he glanced at the clock. Through the darkness, four glowing green numbers informed him that he should've been sleeping. Rubbing his eyes wearily, he turned on the T.V. knowing that there was no possible way he could've fallen asleep.

He began flicking through the channel randomly; thanks to his satellite dish he had a lot of channels to go through.

Movies, documentaries, dramas, soap operas and comedies flashed past the screen in bursts of colour and sounds as Xiaolang continued to channel surf hoping for something that would entertain him through these long arduous hours of helpless worrying.

A random word of French caught his attention as Xiaolang lifted his finger away from the remote control. His eyes widened as he realised what he was staring at.

It was a French news bulletin with a serious woman standing in front of what appeared to be the Arc of Triomphe, police cars and fire trucks arranged in a rough ring around the majestic monument. Staring earnestly into the TV camera, the reporter began to speak.

"According to initial reports…" the woman said calmly, her hazel eyes drilling into the lens, "There was concern of a possible attack on the Arc of Triomphe thanks to an anonymous tip-off. However police now believe that it was a hoax…"

Xiaolang stared at the screen incredulously as the woman continued talking.

"Why I have the feeling the girls have something to do with this?" he muttered to himself.

He stared up at the ceiling as though the white plaster surface would reveal the answers to him in some divine manner.

"What are you girls up to?"

AAAAAAAAAA

"Bingo!"

Tomoyo had been right, even though the nightclub itself had been burnt down to the ground the basement level was still intact, the only sign of the fire had been singe marks that had graced the stairway entrance leading down to the concrete corridors below.

Sakura had quickly got to work, unlocking every single door they had come across as Meiling and Tomoyo ducked inside each one to search for information.

"What?" Meiling rushed into the room, staring around wildly, "What bingo?"

Tomoyo beamed at her.

"I've got it," she said triumphantly holding up a piece of paper.

"What does it say?" Meiling said quickly rushing over to her friend.

"1331 Belleville," Tomoyo read, she raised an eyebrow, "Hmm… not exactly the most glamorous part of Paris."

"Huh?" Meiling was puzzled.

"Paris's separated into several districts, one Belleville is generally considered a residential area… you know away from the glittering lights and tourists," Sakura walked through the door, glancing at the piece of paper in Tomoyo's hands, "Was that just lying around?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, give the bad guys a little bit of credit," she muttered, "This message was in the fax machine…"

"In?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"This message was sent before from this fax machine…"

She patted the indicated machinery.

"I used my laptop to hack into the fax machine and pulled up the message again and then printed it out… so, voila!" she presented the sheet of paper to them, "We have our bargaining chip."

Sakura glanced down at the sheet of paper, chewing her lip thoughtfully.

"So phase one complete…" she mused quietly.

"On to phase two?" Meiling asked.

Sakura nodded.

"Let's visit our good friend…"

AAAAAAAAAAA

"Boss?"

Michael Dupree, leader of the French Mafia, looked up in surprise.

"Yes, Gary?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"There're three girls here to see you."

"Huh?"

AAAAAAAAAA

Meiling, Tomoyo and Sakura stood in the foyer, waiting impatiently inside a ring of heavily armed guards as Sakura continued to talk into her mobile.

"Yeah, thanks Nikki," Sakura said calmly, "We found it. Bye."

She hung up and flipped her phone shut, slipping the device into her pocket she glanced around at their impressive surroundings. The floor was tiled in a simplistic black and white alternating pattern that perfectly matched the rich crimson colour of the walls. Antique busts adorned polished mahogany tables placed strategically around the foyer, but these were easily overshadowed by the grand majestic stairway that led up to the main section of the building, a pristine marble structure crafted by skill hands.

"Nice," Tomoyo noted glancing at the stairway, "Much better than those concrete stairs from the nightclub."

A cold hard metal barrel shoved itself painfully into her shoulder forcing her to be silent.

"Ouch," Tomoyo muttered glaring at the man who had jabbed her.

The man moved to speak but was cut off as a flurry of movement caught everyone's eyes. The girls looked up just in time to see the tall figure of Michael Dupree descend down the stairs, a puzzled look on his face. His bright emerald eyes fell onto the Angels' faces and he stopped halfway down the stairs, a shocked look falling across his handsome features.

It was Meiling who broke the silence.

"And look who finally decides to join us," she muttered, vexation clearly showing in her eyes.

"Meiling… Tomoyo… Sakura…" he said quietly, his emerald eyes studying the girls carefully, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Hi," Sakura smiled brightly, "Nice to see you?"

Michael was not dissuaded though.

"Is this something to do with the… attack on the Arc de Triomphe?" he demanded.

"Well, technically… that was caused by us," Sakura shrugged, "But there's no actual attack."

The man was startled and clearly showed it.

"What?"

"Don't worry," Tomoyo assured him.

She glanced at the ring of armed guards surrounding them and stared meaningfully up at Michael. The man received her unspoken message and barked out several words of French, the men lowered their guns and stepped away.

"We have a problem," Tomoyo said carefully, "We're here on a mission but it seems we've come across a little snag."

"Snag?" Michael walked down the last few stairs and faced the girls, "Why should I help you? Because technically… we're on opposite sides."

"Yeah, that's true," Sakura shrugged, "And normally we would've smacked your butt down by now but we know how the Mafia works… we knock off their leader and the whole system goes in disarray… mass violence happens until someone wins the internal struggle and becomes the new leader… it's just too messy. It's easier to keep you as the leader."

"And plus," Meiling added, "You're more subtle than other people."

"Meaning?" Michael asked curiously.

"You don't like taking semi-automatics to the general public," Sakura supplied helpfully, "You're less likely to cause mass slaughter than other people so we keep you in place here… for now."

"Thanks," Michael said slowly, "I think."

"So back to our little problem," Tomoyo cut in, getting back on track, "Our little snag? Not so little."

Michael sighed.

"What is it?" he asked wearily, "One of my men getting in the way? Cause I can't hel…"

"No, our snag is the form of an arrogant British bastard," Tomoyo smirked, "I think his name is Anthony Collins."

Michael's reaction was instant, his emerald eyes turned into chips of cold jade as his hands clenched into twin fists, the knuckles white with strain. When he spoke, his voice was harsh and simmering with barely suppressed rage.

"Where is he?" he thundered as all his guards turned to look at him in surprise.

"He's here in Paris and he seems to be setting up a little operation," Tomoyo explained calmly, seemingly unaffected by Michael's fury, "He know where he is."

Michael Dupree wasn't the leader of the French Mafia for nothing, even though he seemed consumed with rage, his mind was still clear and sharp.

"Wait a minute…" he said slowly, narrowing his eyes at the girls, "Why do you need me?"

"Anthony Collins is a coward," Meiling said deadpanned, "He's probably surrounded by an army of men. Three girls vs. army equals kamikaze mission so we need you to balance the odds a little."

"And in return?" Michael demanded, "You want Anthony Collins? Because there's no wa…"

Sakura snorted.

"Let we care about him. You can keep him… we want information…"

"We get to keep any files he has, any computers or any phones," Tomoyo took a deep breath, "Deal?"

Michael fell silent for a few seconds.

"Deal."

"Good," Sakura beamed, "It's clobbering time."

Michael returned her gleeful smile with a vicious grin that sent chills down the spines of the Angels.

Tomoyo couldn't help but feel sorry for Anthony Collins.

Sakura felt adrenaline pumping through her veins as she vowed revenge for Leon Marseil's senseless death.

Meiling simply returned a predatory grin of her own.

Anthony Collins was going down.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anthony Collins was not a happy man.

"Who the hell were those bitches?" he demanded, snarling with rage as he glared at his cronies, "Who were those bitches?"

"Umm… sir… we don't know but gives us a couple of days an…"

"COUPLE OF DAYS?" Anthony Collins roared, "GET OUT!"

His crony cringed and began bowing constantly as he backed out of the room hurriedly, apologies bursting from his lips. Anthony leaned back into his chair and snarled at his guards.

"I want them find," he barked, "I want them find and killed. I want you to hunt them down and blow off their frigg…"

"BOOM!"

The whole building shook as a deafening roar resonated through the walls. Frowning in confusion, Anthony shoved himself off his chair and ran out the door sprinting straight to the source of the sound: the front of the building.

When he reached his destination, he felt his jaws hit the ground. The front wall of the house was missing blown inwards by some incredible force that had torn wood and brick alike with ease. Dense walls had been replaced by a giant gaping hole that revealed the pale dawning sky outside; smoking debris was strewn liberally all over the charred floor.

And amidst the ruins stood three girls, each smiling triumphantly.

Anthony's eyes widened as he recognised their faces.

"YOU!" he snarled.

"Hello, Anthony," one of the girls, an auburn haired beauty called out to him, "This is your wake up call."

Anthony whirled on his cronies.

"What are you waiting for!" the Cobra Mark leader cried, "FIRE!"

And everything dissolved into chaos.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura, Tomoyo and Meiling hurled themselves to the side as a barrage of bullets tore at them. From somewhere behind them, they heard Michael Dupree shot something in French.

An instant later, more bullets were sent howling through the air only this time they were aimed at Anthony Collins and his Cobra Mark lackeys.

One man went down in a spray of red as the Angels focused on not being mowed down by gunfire.

Meiling picked up a block of charred brick and with a flick of her wrist sent it flying at the Cobra Mark fighters. It struck one man in the temple with a sickening crunch.

He went down instantly as Meiling picked up another piece of debris and hurled it forwards.

Choked screams filled the air as bullets find their mark. Fortunately most of the causalities seemed to be on Anthony Collins' side and from the furious look on his face, it seemed that the man was well aware of that particular fact.

"Retreat!" he screamed, waving his men back, "RETREAT!"

They began disappearing back into the main body of the house as the Angels ran after them. But they were brought to a screeching halt as a rain of bullets ripped into the ground just in front of them.

"Damn!" Sakura snarled.

"After them!" Michael's voice roared through the air with all the authority of a general commanding his troops into battle, "Gary! Destroy that wall!"

Everyone backed away as Gary stepped up, a rocket launcher snugly fitted across his left shoulder. Taking aiming, he pressed the trigger. The rocket struck the wall with an incredible bang, flames tearing away at the flimsy brick and mortar structure. It exploded inwards releasing a fresh blast of debris and smoke as Michael's men began charging forwards.

There was a flash of silver and one man fell to the ground, dead in a pool of cooling blood.

"Her!" Sakura gasped as a white figure leapt out from the burning wreckage.

The White Lady swiped at another man tearing a bleeding gouge into his chest as he fell to the ground, his scream abruptly cut off by death.

"I'll get her!" Meiling yelled, "GO! Go after Anthony!"

She leapt into the fray kicking at the White Lady as Michael urged his man onwards. He ran into the building after them as Sakura and Tomoyo threw one last helpless glance at Meiling as she and the White Lady sparred with deadly speed.

"GO!" Meiling screamed at them as she threw another punch.

The two Angels ran in after Michael as Meiling continued fighting in her own deadly duel.

"Come on, White Ranger. Let's see what you've got," Meiling growled as she blocked the lady before kicking her in the chest.

The White Lady charged at her again and the bloody battle resumed.

Sakura and Tomoyo raced down the hallway following Michael's retreating form, suddenly from somewhere down the long stretch of hallway someone began shouting frantically and the air was soon punctuated with the sound of gunshots.

They ran into a large room and walked straight into a madhouse.

Every single piece of furniture was overturned, providing meagre protection as guns blazed and men died.

"THERE!" Sakura yelled, screaming over the din of gunfire as she pointed at something.

Tomoyo followed her friend's gazed and caught sight of a familiar hank of dark hair.

"Anthony!" Sakura bellowed, "We need to take him out!"

Tomoyo nodded at her friend and fellow Angel as they instantly leapt into action. The Japanese Angel leapt onto a nearby table and ran for her life as bullets ripped into the wood underfoot. Executing a neat flip, she felt bullets zip through the air around her as her well-trained eye saw each bullet move past in slow motion, each slug surrounded by rippling air.

Tomoyo threw herself to the ground as another gun went off, spraying bullets overhead. Rolling away she came to a halt just metres away from Anthony Collins, looking around widely she spotted Sakura who was pinned down by two gunmen. She watched on in horror as they opened fire, Sakura hurriedly leapt away as the bullets narrowly missed tearing her apart.

Tomoyo forced herself to look away and focused on her target. With a fierce cry, she leapt at him. Hearing the cry, Anthony whirled around and instantly saw his danger. Swinging his gun around, he tried to shoot her down but Tomoyo's hand shot out slapping the barrel away. The shot went wild hitting the ceiling as Tomoyo viciously head-butted him in the face.

Stunned, Anthony dropped his gun as Tomoyo whipped her arms around and held him in a vicious chokehold.

"Call your men off," she growled dangerously into his ears, "Or I'll kill you with my bare hands."

Tightening her grip, she shook him before allowing him to breath again. Choking for breath, Anthony stared up into her eyes and was met with a pair of ruthless lavender irises that showed nothing but fury and hatred. Forcing another breath into his lungs, Anthony began screaming at his cronies.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" he yelled as he writhed in Tomoyo's grip, "DROP THEM!"

The fighting came to a screeching halt as all of Anthony's men turned to look at him, uncertainly. Tomoyo tightened her grip.

"DROP THEM!"

Guns rattled to the ground as Michael gestured for his men to capture the survivors. Sakura shakily stood up as Anthony glared up at Tomoyo.

"I'm gonna kill you," he snarled.

Tomoyo stared down at him, contempt burning in her eyes.

"I'm going to enjoy this," she said calmly.

Before anybody could blink, Tomoyo punched him in the face smiling in satisfaction as she felt bones crunch under the impact of the blow. Anthony's head snapped backwards as his body went limp.

Scrunching her nose in disgust, Tomoyo dropped the unconscious man and stepped over him carefully.

"So… we're done?" she asked looking around at the shell-shocked Cobra Mark lackeys as Michael's men forced them against one of the walls before handcuffing them tightly.

"Yeah," a new voice said wearily from the doorway.

"Meiling!" Sakura cried, "What happened?"

Meiling grimaced as she stumbled over to her friends.

"We fought, she knocked me down and the next thing I knew she's gone," Meiling snorted, "Damn coward."

Sakura sighed.

"Well, at least Anthony's been taken down."

"Girls."

The three Angels turned to regard Michael. He cocked an elegant eyebrow at them.

"I believe you were after something?"

"On it," Tomoyo replied, beckoning her fellow Angels to come closer, "Come on, let's have a look around."

And with that the Angels began searching through the building.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura stared out through the airplane window as beside her, Tomoyo began going through the files and disks they had taken from the Cobra Mark headquarters.

"I wonder…" Sakura began musingly.

"What?" Tomoyo asked distractedly as Meiling napped beside her, snoring lightly.

"Will we ever come to Paris without causing mass destruction to every place we go to?" Sakura glanced at her friend as Tomoyo began sniggering.

"Well, our record stands at one museum, one nightclub and the Cobra Mark headquarters," Tomoyo smirked, "And we still haven't been to the landmarks yet."

Sakura smiled as she leaned back into her chair.

"Oh well, maybe next time."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol Hiragizawa stared at the carnage around him.

"Damn it," he sighed, "Looks like I do need some help…"

He glanced at his bloody hands before grimacing and wiping them on his torn and battered shirt succeeding in transferring the red mess onto the already filthy fabric.

"But who the hell will hel…"

He froze.

"Tomoyo…" he breathed, "Tomoyo will help…"

He looked up, his eyes burning with determination.

It was time to see an old friend.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Next chapter:

Eriol's back and he needs something from Tomoyo but is the Japanese Angel able to handle this reunion? And what exactly does Eriol need? Past wounds are open and new ones are made as Tomoyo comes face to face with her demons and the man she loves. Find out what happens next in… _Reunion_

A/Notes: Sorry for the really, really long delays but this fic has been kicking the stuffing out of me. I spent a long time just finalising the plot, story arcs and character development and finally got it all under control, mainly due to the fact I have discovered the art of storyboarding.

I have also written up to chapter 13 so all I'm waiting for is a lot of reviews before I post new ones. So watch this space cause I'm back!

Oh, and watch out for chapter ten, there's gonna to be a major twist that will change everything!


	6. Reunion

Yay! This is probably my fastest update but due to all your lovely reviews here they are! And plz, R + R, 20 new reviews more updates!

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 5: Reunion**

Eriol Hiragizawa stared at the carnage around him.

"Damn it," he sighed, "Looks like I do need some help…"

He glanced at his bloody hands before grimacing and wiping them on his torn and battered shirt succeeding in transferring the red mess onto the already filthy fabric.

"But who the hell will hel…"

He froze.

"Tomoyo…" he breathed, "Tomoyo will help…"

He looked up, his eyes burning with determination.

It was time to see an old friend.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Hello, old friend of mine," Sakura said happily as she plonked herself down onto a seat opposite her friend.

Diana raised an eyebrow at her.

"You look happy," the lawyer observed as she put her work aside, studying her friend's face carefully.

Satisfy that all of Sakura's limbs were intact and she had suffered no head trauma, Diana returned back to her work.

"Oh that's nice," Sakura admonished, "How about nice to see you? Thank you for making this world a better place? How was Paris etc. etc. etc.?"

"On behalf of mankind, thanks, but now you're blocking my light," Diana drawled.

Sakura rolled her eyes but moved aside as Diana picked up her file and began reading again, occasionally taking a sip from her coffee.

"Why aren't you celebrating with Xiaolang?" her friend asked curiously glancing up.

Sakura shrugged.

"Tried to contact him but I think he's out or something," Sakura's eyes glazed over, "Maybe he's gone for a run… hmm… Xiaolang getting sweaty in tight shorts…"

Now it was Diana's turn to roll her eyes.

"Sakura, drool alert," she said briskly snapping her friend out of her lust induced trance, "So, how was Paris?"

Sakura sighed.

"I'm starting to think Paris's cursed or something…"

"Oh!" Diana snapped her fingers, "That hoax attack on the Arc de Triomphe… was that you?"

Sakura smiled slyly.

"That was a diversion," she said conspiringly, "We did manage to burn down a nightclub, though."

Diana stared at her friend strangely.

"And you're making this world a better place how?"

"It did belong to one of the CIA's most wanted," Sakura replied dead-panned.

Diana raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"The places you go to," she sighed, "So, everyone okay? Mission accomplished?"

"A huge tick in both columns," Sakura nodded, "And a shiny gold star as well."

"Oh, that's nice," Diana smiled at her brightly as Sakura eyed her suspiciously.

"Okay, what do you want?"

"What? Me?" Diana asked innocently, batting her bright blues eyes at her friend, "Why do you thin…"

"Number one, you usually stay grumpy until your third cup of coffee and you're only on your first. And second? Kevin's just entered the diner and is coming our way," Sakura smirked into her friend's eyes as Diana grimaced.

"Fine, you got me," Diana muttered, "But it's work related! I swear!"

Sakura merely stared silently at her friend.

"Fine," Diana sighed, "It's a breakfast date kind of thing but I would greatly apprec…"

"If I went away?"

"Far away."

"Done and done," Sakura nodded standing up, "See you later?"

"We're going clubbing tonight," Diana said smiling warmly up at her friend, "You can come."

"When?"

"Nine."

"Usual place?"

"Usual place."

Sakura nodded.

"Alright, see you then," she shoved herself away from the table and made her way to the exit, smiling at Kevin Lacuray as she breezed past him, "Morning."

"Morning," the man replied with a small grin and a nod of his own.

As she exited through the door, she threw a final glance behind her and smiled as she saw Kevin and Diana share a passionate kiss in the middle of the diner. Shaking her head, Sakura stepped out onto the street and began making her way through the morning crowds.

"Ahh… true love," she mused to herself, smiling softly.

It was quickly replaced by a wicked as Sakura went off to find Xiaolang.

Hopefully he had gone for a run…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling's world was brought to a screeching halt as a cacophony of mechanical beeps ripped into her ears.

"Damn alarm clock," Meiling muttered wearily as she swung her arm outwards, searching wildly for the beeping clock.

Marcus laughed and turned the alarm off, thankfully cutting off the incessant beeping. Yawning loudly, Meiling flipped onto her back and opened her eyes staring up at her fiancé as he hurried to get dressed.

"What's the time?" she asked lazily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Seven-thirty," Marcus told her as he whipped his tie around his neck and began tying it briskly.

Meiling ran her hands from her dark hair as she looked around dazedly.

"Why did I set the alarm to seven-thirty, again?" she asked sitting up.

"Because you wanted to take Lily out for breakfast before dropping her off at school… remember?" Marcus finished tying his tie and joined his fiancée, sitting on the edge of their bed as he leaned over, "Morning."

Meiling smiled against his lips as they shared their customary morning kiss.

"Morning," she mumbled as they pulled apart, "I better get up, huh?"

"If you want to take Lily out for breakfast? Yeah, you better."

Meiling mumbled grumpily under her breath as she finally managed to drag herself away from the tangle of sheets that cocooned her body. She immediately yelped as she felt the cool morning air brush up against her skin raising goose bumps all over her body.

"God!" she gasped, "It's cold!"

"It is January," Marcus reminded her as he planted a final kiss on Meiling's lips, "Sorry, but I've got an early class. See you later?"

Meiling nodded.

"Definitely," she gave him a sleepy smile as Marcus shot her a final warm grin before disappearing out the door, ready to head out for work.

Meiling sighed as she glanced at the clock again.

"Well, I better get up," she muttered as she wrapped her night robe around her body before heaving herself up off the soft mattress with a sigh.

Slipping on her slippers, she padded to Lily's room and smiled as she saw that the young girl was still fast asleep.

"Rise and shine,' she called softly as she made her way to her daughter's bed, "It's time to get up."

Lily's bright blue eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Morning mommy," she muttered drowsily.

Meiling smiled down at the little girl, enjoying this tranquil moment with her daughter.

In a life as hectic and dangerous as hers, it was important to treasure the little things. To keep them locked up in her memory, to comfort her in the darkest of hours. Just like the time in Laos when she and her fellow Angels had gone up against the deadly might of the Void card and Hei…

Snapping herself out of her dark thoughts, Meiling helped Lily to get dressed. As she untangled the little girl from her bed sheets, she swore to God that she would never ever let anything take her family away from her.

Not a single thing.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo sat by her window, staring out at the calm morning sky as she sipped her cup of steaming coffee. Still in her bathrobe, Tomoyo was quite content to just stay in this position until she had to head out for a debriefing with Syaoran and the other Angels later.

Smiling in satisfaction, Tomoyo took another sip from her cup as she mentally reviewed their recent mission in Paris. Whilst it hadn't gone to plan… she closed her eyes at the painful memory of Leon Marseil's needless death as she wished once again they could've saved the innocent man.

With a deep sigh, she pushed her thoughts away from their failure and focused on how they had taken down Anthony Collins. Looking deep into her coffee mug contemplatively, Tomoyo realised their mission had been full of mixed results.

Anthony Collins and Cobra Mark's Paris base had been taken care of but the mysterious 'White Lady' (as Sakura had dubbed her) had disappeared without a trace.

Leon Marseil had been killed but the Angels managed to retrieve any possible information that Collins had managed to get out of the man.

And of course, they had managed to survive.

Which was always a bonus.

Tomoyo glanced to her left and sighed as she realised that she still had work to do. For perhaps the billionth time, she cursed the fact that none of the other Angels were skilled enough with computers to take over this particular task. Shaking her head in exasperation, Tomoyo pulled the laptop onto her lap and began typing away.

Data flashed across the screen in a flurry of jumbled up letters and numbers as she continued downloading information from the computer hard-drives they had stolen from the Cobra Mark base.

So far, she saw nothing overly important but saved it all anyway just in case. Sighing in frustration, she inwardly wondered if there was anything worth searching for at all but she forced herself to concentrate.

Decrypting the latest series of data, she sighed as she realised it was nothing of use.

"Oh, come on," she cried, "Give me something!"

Deeply annoyed now, Tomoyo hit a series of keys and watched on as the laptop went into auto-pilot, automatically downloading and decrypting information from the computer hard-disks, which was connected to the machine via a series of brightly coloured wires. Putting her laptop to the side, Tomoyo leaned her head against the window wearily and took a sip of her now cold coffee.

Grimacing at the coldness, Tomoyo forced herself up and padded softly to her kitchen intent on making another cup of coffee. Filling up her kettle, she placed it on the stove and waited patiently as the water began boiling.

Her eyes stared off into emptiness, as she stood lost in thought wondering inwardly what Michael Dupree had done with Anthony Collins.

She wondered if the man was even aliv…

"BRRIIIIINNGGG!"

Tomoyo jumped as her phone began ringing loudly, breaking noisily into her thoughts. Frowning in confusion, she wondered who could be calling her this early in the morning as she reached over the marble kitchen counter to answer the phone.

Picking up the device and placing it against her ear, Tomoyo frowned as silence greeted her.

"Hello?" she asked uncertainly, "Anyone there?"

'_Tomoyo?'_

Tomoyo's eyes widened as she recognised the voice. Memories, bittersweet, flooded into her mind as she struggled to keep her senses about her. Finally getting her emotions under control, she replied, her voice small and trembling.

"Eriol?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura smiled as she jogged into the park and saw a familiar figure, bent over, obviously tying his shoelaces. Her eyes lit up as her eyes studied his muscular form, lingering on his chestnut hair and his hands as his deft fingers worked the long strings of his shoes moving quic…

Sakura shook herself as she reminded herself not to drool over the gorgeous sight. A mischievous smile flashed across her face as she jogged towards her boyfriend, carefully keeping out of his line of sight.

As he began to straighten up again, Sakura sneaked up behind him, keeping her footsteps light and quiet. With no warning at all, her hands shot up and clapped themselves over Xiaolang's eyes, all the time smirking at his yelp of surprise.

Still grinning wickedly, she stood on her tiptoes so she could reach his ears and leaned forwards.

"Guess who?" she whispered gently feeling him shiver at the feeling of her warm breath brushing against his delicate earlobes.

"My AWOL girlfriend?" Xiaolang teased as Sakura pulled her hands away from his eyes and smacked him on the shoulder playfully.

"Tease," she muttered as Xiaolang whirled around and threw his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest.

Sakura practically melted into his arms as Xiaolang planted a long, deep kiss on her lips. All other feelings in her body faded as Sakura just focused on that one sensation: Xiaolang's lips on her hers, their breath mingling together, the way his hands were playing with her shirt pulling it up and stroking the soft ski…

"Okay!" she panted pulling away, "Stop before we get arrested for indecent exposure!"

Xiaolang merely sent her a sly smirk that caused her mind to explode with naughty images but complied pulling away slightly.

"So, you're alive?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm dead. This is the ghost of Sakura coming back to haunt you. Boo! Fear me," Sakura smiled at him as he stared incredulously back at her, "Of course I'm alive and well and pretty!"

"That's nice to know," Xiaolang nuzzled her again as Sakura laughed and batted him away.

"Come on, I'm starving," Sakura announced, "I haven't had breakfast yet. Well… I had coffee but not actual food and you know what they say breakfast is the most imp…"

Xiaolang laughed at his girlfriend's blabbering.

"Fine, breakfast-bound it is?"

"Oh, yeah," Sakura grabbed his hand and began dragging him away as Xiaolang laughed.

"Slow down!" he teased, "Jeez, it's not like breakfast's going to disappear!"

"I'm hungry," Sakura complained, "Food, need, now."

Xiaolang stared at her.

"And hunger seems to be causing your intellect to regress?"

"And isn't it ironic that my intellect is regressing and I still understand those big words you're using?" Sakura wanted to know.

A sly smile appeared on Xiaolang's face.

"Oh you mean words like be or to?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you're so funny," she drawled.

"I try," Xiaolang replied smugly.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him but an impish smile soon formed across her lips as her emerald eyes raked her boyfriend's body up and down. Xiaolang was feeling decidedly uncomfortable as his girlfriend's smile turned predatory.

"Sakura…" he began, "What are y… Oof!"

Without a word of warning, Sakura launched herself into the air landing solidly on her boyfriend's back. Giggling loudly, she wrapped her arms around his neck as her legs slid around his waist.

"What the?" Xiaolang cried.

Sakura sniggered and leaned forwards to whisper in his ears.

"Piggyback ride!"

Shaking his head and smiling at her obviously high spirits, Xiaolang complied taking off at a dead sprint as other joggers and park-goers stared after them in shock and disapproval. Ignoring their strange stares, Xiaolang couldn't help but tease his giggling girlfriend one more time.

"You know the breakfast thing might not be a good idea… you're kind of heavy."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and raised her hands smacking him non-too gently on the shoulders.

"OW!"

Sakura still wasn't ready to forgive and forget.

"Coward."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Eriol?"

'_Tomoyo.'_

Tomoyo sat down slowly on one of the kitchen stools as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"What do you want?" she demanded, finally finding her voice.

She winced, her voice sounded a lot harsher than she had intended.

"Sorry," she said gently, "Why are you calling me?"

There was silence on the other line finally he spoke again, his voice quiet, a mere ghostly whisper that Tomoyo had to strain to hear.

'_I need your help.'_

Tomoyo blinked.

Once.

Twice.

With each blink, memories swirled inside her head.

Their first meeting.

The instant attraction she had felt.

Their first date.

The pain and horror she had felt when he had attacked her in Japan.

The final confrontation.

The phone call.

Now.

"Help?"

Her voice sounded very far away, as though it wasn't her who spoke but some distant stranger.

'_I've…' _Eriol stopped and sighed, '_I've got a job… a hit.'_

"You're an assassin," Tomoyo whispered, "Oh."

Her eyes glazed over as she remembered the last phone call she had gotten from him. She remembered his promises.

Lies.

They were all lies.

"You said you'd change," she spat accusingly, anger raging through her body, "You promised you'd try to live on the straight."

Eriol fell silent as Tomoyo waited for his answer, blood pounding in her ears. A peculiar feeling was rolling through her body. It was as if she wanted him to hang up and just get out of her life but there was another side of her that rejoiced at the fact that she was talking to him again and would do anything to keep him with her.

Forever.

As her mind and heart waged war inside her body, Eriol finally spoke up again.

'_It's different…' _he said finally.

"Oh, so you're not an assassin?"

Still confused, Tomoyo could only react with a venomous remark.

'I am but what I do… it's different. I only target… criminals… those people that deserve to die.'

Silence.

Pondering.

"No one deserves to die like that," Tomoyo finally managed to choke out.

'_Some do,'_ Eriol said calmly, '_Tomoyo, I didn't call you to discuss the ethics of my job…'_

"Why because you know it's wrong?"

Eriol sighed.

_'Are you going to help me or not?'_

"That depends," Tomoyo gritted out coldly, "What do you need my help for?"

_'Computers. I need you to deactivate some pretty complex security systems… nobody else I've contacted could do it. You're my only hope.'_

Tomoyo bit her lip, weighing up her options.

"Who are you going after?"

_'Francis Dorrado.'_

Tomoyo's eyes widened as she recognised the infamous name.

"The drug lord?"

_'The one and only.'_

The Japanese Angel closed her eyes as everything she had seen and read about the infamous Francis Dorrado surfaced in her mind.

The horrific crimes he had perpetrated were endless and many… as were his list of victims.

"I'll do it," she said finally, so softly she was almost sure she hadn't said anything at all but Eriol heard her, loud and clear.

'_Meet me at San Diego's Hotel de Coronado at nine tonight,' _Eriol instructed her calmly, '_I'll meet you there.'_

"Erio…"

Before she could say another word Eriol hung up. Slowly she pulled the phone away from her ears and stared down at it, eyes unseeing, her mind in turmoil.

She finally spoke.

"Oh god."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Oh my god!"

Nakuru threw her pen down in disgust as Yukito calmly placed another stack of thick manila files down on her glass and metal desk. The CIA agent tossed her co-worker a dirty look as she leaned back in her chair, a disgruntled look on her face.

"You've got to be kidding me," she snarled, glaring at the deluge of paperwork that covered her desk, "No way."

Yukito merely smiled at her indulgently before picking up one of the files and began flicking through it.

"Sorry, but we need to review everything we had on Aikio and his little operation," Yukito explained, "Since he's in jail, our whole investigation has dried up… we need to go through the files and try to find some new leads."

Nakuru sighed.

"Can't we just go Pulp Fiction on his sorry butt?"

"Huh?"

Nakuru rolled her eyes.

"Jeez, culturally deprived much? See a movie some time," she muttered, "I mean can't we just interrogate Aikio? You know, the bad cop good cop thing? Except I'm thinking bad cop evil cop sharp implements and chains are going to be more appropriate."

"That's illegal," Yukito reminded her.

"Only if someone finds out," Nakuru argued.

Yukito merely raised an eyebrow as Nakuru sighed.

"Fine, let me guess the FBI are refusing to co-operate?"

"As usual? Yes."

"Damn," Nakuru growled, "God, I hate paperwork."

"Who doesn't?"

Nakuru glanced to her left just as Touya reached her desk, muttering under his breath as he too flicked through another thick files of papers.

"This is useless," he groaned in disgust as he threw the file down onto Nakuru's already paper littered desk.

"Hey!"

Touya ignored her as he usually did as he turned to his partner, Yukito.

"This is getting nowhere." Touya muttered, "Most of this information is useless."

Nakuru rubbed her eyes.

"Tell me about it," she muttered.

"Come on," Yukito urged gently, "We've got to keep trying. Trust me eventually we'll fin..."

A brash arrogant voice filled the air as all three agents rolled their eyes, recognising the speaker.

"So you ladies still poking around with the paperwork?"

Touya immediately bristled as Nakuru's ruby eyes flashed dangerously, Yukito was the only one to remain calm and serene but that was expected: Yukito could always be counted on to keep a level-head, one of the main reasons why he was teamed up with the temper-prone Touya. They were like exact polar opposites: fire and ice, yin and yang.

Yukito had the strangest feeling he would have to restrain his partner soon as Dan Williams, one of their fellow agents, swaggered over to them, a smirk plastered across his face.

Nakuru thoughtfully stroked the butt of her gun, as it lay nestled in her hip-holster, silently contemplating murder but soon caught Yukito eyeing her suspiciously. With an exaggerated sigh, she placed her hands onto the top of her desk as Dan continued talking.

"Guess the real men have to go out there and do the dirty work," Dan sneered eyeing Touya with smug eyes as the agent gritted his teeth.

"Oh?" Nakuru had her best oh-so-innocent face on, "Did daddy dearest finally let his little boy go out and play in the real world?"

Dan Williams, arrogant ex-star quarterback of L.A. High's 1998 state champion football team (and he never, ever let anyone forget that), glared at her. It was no big secret around the agency that the only way Dan got his job was because his dad was one of the senior directors of the CIA.

"You better watch that mouth of yours," he growled.

"Oh no, is it getting chapped again?" Nakuru cried with mock fear, "I keep using my lip balm but it's not working!"

Touya hid a snigger as Dan's death glare intensified.

"Whatever," he said finally, "See you around sometime ladies, maybe one day you won't be standing around here gossiping."

He lumbered off as Touya and Nakuru rolled their eyes, the only good thing about Dan Williams was that he was the only thing those two agreed on: Dan Williams was scum and should therefore, logically, be eradicated.

Yukito took a much more sedate view: Dan Williams should be given a desk job and not be allowed to do fieldwork but Touya and Nakuru argued he should be allowed to go out… that way there was a slight possibility that he would be mowed down by gunfire… possibly by 'friendly' fire in the confusion of battle.

Nakuru narrowed her eyes at Dan's retreating form.

"I swear one day someone is going to kick his ass."

Touya sighed.

"Yeah, but thanks to his father no one in this agency would dare."

"But trust me, someone will eventually."

Touya snorted.

"Like who?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Hi, guys," Sakura smiled happily as she sat down next to her friends.

"Hey, Sakura," Diana greeted happily.

The American Angel glanced around at the busy nightclub, her emerald eyes searching.

"Who're you looking for?" Diana asked curiously.

"Oh, I called Tomoyo earlier and invited her to come along. She wasn't there but I left a message," Sakura sighed, "Maybe she didn't get my message."

"Or maybe she has something else to do?" Diana suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Sakura shrugged her shoulders, "It's strange though, I thought she would've wanted to relax and have so fun."

"Don't worry, it's probably nothing big."

Sakura laughed and shook her head.

"Yeah, why on earth should I be worried?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo glanced up at the impressive façade of Hotel de Coronado and shivered slightly.

"Why do I feel so worried?" she muttered sarcastically, "Oh that's right! I'm probably going to embark on a kamikaze mission. What the hell was I thinking when I agreed to this?"

Her mind supplied her with the answer: Eriol.

Tomoyo quickly suppressed the thought and repeated her mantra again.

"I'm on a mission, this has nothing to do with him," she muttered, "I'm doing this to bring down Francis Dorrado not to see him."

Tomoyo began pacing up and down the sidewalk, muttering her mantra over and over again.

"This is to bring down Francis Dorrado," she repeated again for perhaps the millionth time, "I'm not here to see hi…"

"Tomoyo."

She whirled around.

And there he was, standing there dressed in his usual neat style. A pair of freshly pressed khakis encased his legs as a dark blue polo shirt showed off his beautiful lapis-lazuli eyes and his eye-catching grey-blue hair.

There was a healed scar slashed across one cheek, marring his handsome face but to Tomoyo it only served to give him a more rakish image.

Shaking her head to clear that particular thought, Tomoyo straightened and tried to appear business-like.

"Where is he?"

Inwardly she winced, her voice sounded way colder than she had wanted it to sound. Eriol's eyes darkened but that was his only reaction.

"He is close by," he said shortly.

"What do I have to do?"

"Not much really," Eriol said quietly, "I'm going to drive us to Dorrado's headquarters. From there, you should be able to hack into his security system and trigger an alarm in order to draw the bulk of his bodyguards away. I will then enter the house and… eliminate Dorrado."

Tomoyo closed her eyes, having the strangest feeling that she was on the verge of making a deal with the devil.

"Tomoyo, this is the best way to stop Dorrado," Eriol explained calmly, taking her silence for hesitation, "He's got all the cops and judges in the area in his pocket. Even if we put him away, he'll get out with a small slap on the wrist."

"I know that," Tomoyo snapped, "Fine, I'll do it."

For the longest time, they stared at each other, blue meeting lavender, each unreadable.

"Good," Eriol said finally, "Come, the car is waiting. I've got all the necessary equipment in the back."

With that he turned around and began walking away as Tomoyo stared after him, finally she began following after him, every single part of her body shivering uncontrollably.

And just not from the cold.

It was fear.

And desire.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo opened up the laptop and whistled appreciatively as she clicked opened the programs needed for the job.

"Impressive," she murmured, the first words she had said since the beginning of their car ride.

Eriol nodded.

"State of the art technology. I've had people working on it but none of them could pull it off."

Tomoyo merely made some non-committal 'hmm' sound as she began typing away. She soon saw the problem.

"Damn," she muttered seeing the firewalls in place, "Complex."

She began typing away, trying to hack through the firewalls as Eriol watched on. He glanced out the car window and studied Dorrado's impressive headquarters: a sprawling mansion protected by a white-brick wall that encompassed the whole estate, the lush gardens hiding the fact that the whole place was littered with security cameras and motion detectors, ready to go off at anything suspicious. Tomoyo sighed as she failed again but tried a different approach, her fingers blitzing across the keyboard as she wrote string after string of programming, her eyes firmly focused on the laptop screen as she continued working.

Finishing, Tomoyo smiled as she began integrating the Trojan computer virus she had created into the security system, creating a backdoor entrance to the main motherboard bypassing all the firewalls in one swoop. The laptop beeped as she gained access.

"I'm in," Tomoyo said calmly as she began hacking into the motherboard.

"You're good."

"Damn right."

Tomoyo hit the final key and sat back as she watched the security system react o her command.

"On your marks," she whispered, "Get set… go."

She looked up as alarms began pealing through the air, Eriol glanced at her, eyes questioning as Tomoyo smirked back at him.

"I've activated the alarm, drawing them away from the mansion. They're checking out an 'intrusion' in the southern-west sector of the gardens."

Eriol nodded as he began opening the door.

"Eriol?"

He glanced back at Tomoyo as the Japanese Angel sighed.

"Umm… good luck."

The assassin merely nodded again before stepping out of the car and closing the door behind him. Tomoyo watched as he disappeared from her line of vision.

Closing her laptop, Tomoyo leaned back into her chair and felt tears run down her face. Finally alone, Tomoyo did the one thing she had wanted to do since seeing Eriol again.

She cried.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol swung his gun around and fired, smiling in grim satisfaction as the man went down. His attack was vicious, fuelled by his confusion over seeing Tomoyo again.

A part of him had wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her silly at the hotel but another part of him, the smarter side, told him that they will never be that way again.

Gritting his teeth, he aimed and fired off another bullet, his accuracy lethally on target.

Dispatching the last of the guards, he kicked open the door leading right into Francis Dorrado's office and stormed right in, gun at the ready.

He stopped.

The office was empty.

Frowning in confusion, Eriol kept his senses on high alert ready for the slightest hint of danger. He stalked over to the desk, noting that the leather chair sitting behind the mahogany table was facing the other way, the back turned to him.

Still cautious, Eriol reached over and grabbed the chair, spinning it around roughly.

A flash of white against the black leather caught his eye.

It was a square piece of paper, a note.

Eriol grabbed it.

"Too late?" he read in confusion.

His blue eyes widened in shock as he whirled around and bolted out of the office. Down the hallways he ran, bursting through the front door and dashing across the immaculate green lawn uncaring of the fact that he was trampling the garden underfoot.

He shot through the gate he had come through and ran around the corner, sprinting as fast as he could until he reached his car.

He came to a screeching halt.

His car was destroyed.

The windshield smashed in.

The tyres slashed.

And worst of all she was gone.

Eriol stared at the ruined scene in front of him, unable to fully understand what was going on.

She was gone.

Tomoyo was gone.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

CLIFFHANGER! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Next chapter:

With Tomoyo in the clutches of Francis Dorrado, Eriol races against the clock to save the woman he loves and in order to do this, he may need to call upon some allies… namely Tomoyo's fellow Angels. Find out what happens when the truth about Eriol comes out to Sakura and Meiling. Find out what new dark secrets emerge as we next go to… _Truth of the matter_…

A/Notes: Thanks for all your lovely reviews and now I'll answer some questions, I've received!

Kasmo- when I mentioned the Arc de Triomphe, that is not the Eiffel Tower, it's another famous Paris tourist location. It's this big arc thingy made by Napoleon, look it up on the net and you shall see.

Railway Station- when I write my fics, I like to form a plot, which is the basic overall story I want to tell and then I start form character arcs, which is what I want my characters to go through throughout the story and how it changes them.

Then I start creating storyline, more specific things that happens within the plot. Like with this fic, Syaoran's Angel's 2, the main plot is the girls fighting a new evil but I have specific storylines like this Eriol mini-story I've got going and the finally I plan out each individual chapter to see how fast these stories and arcs can progress and what will happen in each one.

And lately I've started storyboarding, which is each more in-depth, and it's a section-by-section guide on what happens in each chapter. So here you go, this is how I write my stories!

As for other more general questions, Touya, Nakuru and Yukito is still here and many old characters are coming back, like Dan Williams in this chapter (he appeared in the first Syaoran's Angels… I think chapter 9 and 10) and Nivaline, Kiyone and others will appear later.

No-one knows that Syaoran and Xiaolang are the same person yet, not even Sakura and finally Sakura does think Touya is dead. And as for what happens in chapter 10, I hope you'll be surprised because I am now up to writing chapter 13 (and getting stuck on it) and I feel the new twist pushes everything to the new level. But it has angst… so be warned.

See you soon!


	7. Truth of the matter

Thank you for all your lovely reviews but there's something I'm not happy about. I've got like a thousand plus hits for this story and only sixty reviews… for god's, pete's and my sake please if you read, REVIEW! Just put in a little line in the reviews so I know people aren't just dropping in and leaving but actually reading what I'm writing. PLEASE REVIEW! 

20 new reviews means a new update!

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah… read previous

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 6: Truth of the matter**

She was gone.

Tomoyo was gone.

Eriol stood there, his mind working furiously trying to decipher the scene in front of him, trying to break down this revelation bit by bit so his brain could fully process the magnitude of this situation.

She was gone.

Taken.

Stolen.

Kidnapped.

Captured.

Snatched.

Gone.

Eriol felt his body begin to tremble violently but his mind was detached from the vessel of flesh in which it usually inhabited, a distant observer to the happenings of the real world.

"FREEZE!"

That sharp harsh word spoken with pulsating rage tore through his haze of confusion and sheer panic as his body instantly leapt into action. He whirled around, gun swinging up to chest level as he faced off against Francis Dorrado's guard.

His finger squeezed the trigger.

"BAM!"

One man went down as metal tore into his chest. Eriol threw himself to the side as the men turned on him, firing wildly with their own guns. As he hit the ground, his gun swung up and he fired again.

"BAM!"

This time the slug tore through one man's knees, tearing through cartilage, bone and muscle with horrifying ease as Eriol fired again.

"BAM!"

The man died in a spray of red.

Bullets tore at the pavement and car, narrowly missing him as they whistled through the air pulverising metal and concrete alike as the evidence of their destruction, the chips of shattered material, sprayed into the air cutting skin and flesh as Eriol fired again.

Fragile flesh was ripped asunder by the howling bullet, this time Eriol's shot had struck the man in the temple cutting off his life and screams in a blink of an eye.

The pavement was inundated with a river of red death, the precious blood that gave life now just mere messes to be cleaned up later.

Like death itself, Eriol was unstoppable. Rage, fear and adrenaline fuelled his body and mind, closing off all thoughts but one: kill. Kill the bastards who had harmed his precious Tomoyo.

Positively ballistic with vengeance, his eyes blazed with bloodlust, his lips curled back revealing his teeth like a feral beast. His hand yanked the trigger over and over again, not stopping once between his attacks.

Like sheafs of helpless wheat falling beneath a farmer's scythe, Francis Dorrado's men fell, collapsing to the ground, their bodies twisted in painful deaths.

Soon it was only his gunshots that echoed through the air, only this bullets that struck flesh and pavement. Soon he was the only one left standing.

Slowly he lowered his gun.

Dorrado's men were laid out before him, spread out in a hideous image of death in all its brutal glory.

Eriol stood there, heart hammering, breath laboured.

Slowly his gun dropped from his hands as his mind finally made the connections between the scene before him and the deeds he had done.

But he did not feel remorse only anger and dissatisfaction.

Tomoyo was still in danger.

With one last look at the men he had killed, Eriol scooped up his gun and walked back to the car, his mind already at work.

He needed to get Tomoyo back.

But he needed help first.

And he knew just the girls.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

She awoke with a start.

"What the…"

"Well, look who's awake," a sinister voice drawled somewhere from her right.

Tomoyo tried to turn her head to spot the source of the voice but a burst of stinging pain pulsed through her body forcing her to stop. Against her will, a small gasp of pain escaped her lips.

"Oh sorry about that," the voice continued casually as if the speaker was merely discussing the weather or something as mundane as that, "My boys were a bit rough in… escorting you here."

Tomoyo ignored him instead she began taking inventory of her body. Aside from a general dull pain, everything else seemed to be intact. As she tried to move, she felt the tight bands clapped around her legs and arms.

Trapped.

Her lavender eyes gazed around at her surroundings but all she saw was darkness and cold concrete.

"See, I'm a little curious," the voice began again, "The firewalls I had set up around my security systems were supposedly impenetrable… so you could imagine my surprise when I find out someone had not only managed to hack through them but also trigger an alarm allowing an assassin to stroll right into my compound."

"Well, you know nothing is impenetrable," Tomoyo replied calmly still trying to free herself but whatever was bounding her limbs together was strong and durable.

"Oh, you won't be able to break through those," the voice told her.

It was definitely a man speaking, Tomoyo decided as she listened with half an ear.

"Can't blame a girl for trying," Tomoyo said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Mmm… and you can't blame a man for getting pissed off when he's almost killed…"

The speaker stepped into her line of vision as Tomoyo studied him. He was dressed very casually in a pair of ripped jeans and a white polo shirt with the collar flipped up revealing a triangle of very tanned skin. A golden earring winked at her from his left ear as a sinister smile caused his thin lips to curl up. A pair of blue eyes pierced her own as he casually ran a callused hand along his curly dark hair.

"Well, I really must apologise for my rudeness… I mean you really shouldn't threaten and plan to torture people without being on first name basis," the man smiled coldly at her, "I'm Francis Dorrado."

Tomoyo's face was a blank mask, showing no reaction to this piece of news but inside she was worried at being at the mercy of the infamously ruthless Dorrado.

"Pleasure to meet you," Tomoyo said dryly, "But I'm guessing this meeting isn't about pleasure is it?"

"It could be," Francis winked devilishly at her as Tomoyo resisted the urge to roll her eyes and gag at the same time, "But business before pleasure right? What I really want to know is who the hell you are. And who are you working for?"

"Well, dang," Tomoyo sighed, "See the funniest thing just happened… I have temporary amnesia. Sorry, can't help you."

Still smiling sweetly at her, Dorrado backhanded her viciously. Tomoyo's head snapped to the side as Dorrado leaned dangerously over her.

"Wrong answer bitch."

"Damn, guessed I filled in the wrong bubble with the HB pencil huh?" Tomoyo sighed, "And I left my eraser at home."

Francis backhanded her again.

"Ahh… a feisty one aren't you?" he snarled, "Don't worry little girl, I can go slow."

As Tomoyo glared defiantly up at him, inwardly she prayed for someone to charge in and save her.

Unbidden a name sprang into her head.

Eriol…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Snugly ensconced in her boyfriend's arm, Diana Armstrong laughed as Sakura finished off her joke. Her laughter only increased as she felt the fine vibration of her boyfriend's chest as he too laughed along.

Sakura was still smiling as she took a sip from her glass.

"Where's Zachary?" she wondered aloud as she glanced at Diana, "Have you heard from him lately?"

Diana shook her head, a sad look appearing across her face.

"He really doesn't like to go out nowadays," she sighed, "I think he's still trying to recover… from Chelsea's…"

Sakura nodded gravely, her eyes unreadable as her mind plunged back into the dark days following Chelsea's death. Flashes of the past and vague glimpses of half-remembered faces resurfaced again in her mind's eyes.

Lilia Faren…

"_This is how you deserve to die. Not comfortably, not when you're old and wrinkled. Now. Gunned down like the bitch you are."_

Alicia Rueben…

The first bullet slammed into Alicia's chest unleashing a spray of crimson blood as the assassin's body jerked backwards…

Sakura shook herself jolting her mind away from those dark memories. She shivered, during those treacherous times she had touched something dark within her. Something dark and deadly…

"Maybe I should visit him more often," she said aloud, "I haven't seen him for weeks."

Diana nodded; her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. She felt Kevin's arms tighten around her silently offering her comfort she smiled up gratefully into his eyes. He returned the smile.

"Wanna dance?" she offered tentatively.

He flashed her his patented half smirk half grin.

"Sure, I would love to get my toes crushed."

Diana narrowed her eyes at him and hit him gently on the shoulders.  
"Jerk," she muttered rolling her eyes, "I swear sometimes I wonder why I'm dating you."

"Because I'm totally irresistible?"

"Yeah, in your deluded fantasies."

"No, my deluded fantasies involve you and another women," Kevin flashed her a teasing grin as his girlfriend rolled her eyes.

Diana let out a snort of disgust.

"Okay, that's it I'm going to crush your toes."

"Aha! I knew it!"

Sakura shook her head and laughed as Diana and Kevin disappeared from sight, quickly swallowed up by the crowd of dancers on the dance floor. Taking a sip of her drink, Sakura leaned back into her chair and glanced around the busy club. Suddenly her mobile began ringing from its position on the table, it jiggled around on the smooth surface as Sakura reached over and picked it up. Flipping the vibrating phone open, she glanced at the screen and saw it was Tomoyo who was ringing her. A happy smile flashed across her face as she placed the phone against her ear.

"Hello?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_'Hello?'_

Eriol breathed a sigh of relief as Sakura picked up. Luckily Tomoyo's phone had fell out of her pocket when she had been snatched, it had fallen into the gap between the passenger's door and seat and had laid there unnoticed by her kidnappers until Eriol had stumbled across it, frantically searching for ways to contact Tomoyo's friends and fellow Angels. From there it had been relatively easy to pull up her address book and find her friend's phone numbers.

"Is this Sakura Kinomoto?"

_'Who is this?'_ Sakura's voice was filled with confusion at hearing a man's voice calling from her friend's number.

"I'm Eriol… a friend of Tomoyo's… she's in trouble," Eriol said hurriedly, praying that Sakura would take him seriously, "Please, come down to San Diego as soon as possible, meet me at… Hotel de Coronado… I'll be at the front."

_'What? What kind of joke are you playing at? Where's Tomo…'_

Eriol hung up before Sakura could continue her barrage of frantic questions. Slipping the phone into his pocket, Eriol made sure his gun was holstered but in position so it could be drawn without trouble. Taking a deep breath to calm his turbulent thoughts, Eriol began to make his way back to the hotel stepping through the bloody carnage he had wreaked upon Dorrado's men. Like an angel of death, he stepped over their blood-splattered bodies ignoring them completely. He wasn't worried about them.

He was worried about Tomoyo.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo spat out a wad of blood but still continued to glare defiantly at her torturer. In reply, Francis Dorrado merely gave her a mocking polite smile as he wiped his bloody hands on a white towel, the red immediately soaking into the fabric.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed," Francis remarked casually, "Most people would've been begging for their lives by now."

Tomoyo smirked.

"Sorry, I don't play by the rules," she drawled, seemingly unafraid of the fact that she was at his mercy.

Francis laughed, a sharp chilling caw that sent shivers down Tomoyo's spine.

"Doesn't matter," the man grinned, "Just means I get to play with you for longer."

A small whimper of pain was torn from her mouth as a cold metal blade slid across her skin.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Meiling!"

Marcus blinked at her.

"Sakura?"

"Hey, hi, sorry but can't you get Meiling please?" Sakura cried frantically as Marcus continued to stare at her.

"Yeah, sure," he said slowly as he turned around, "Meiling!"

He turned back to her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"

Sakura sighed.

"I wish I knew," she admitted quietly as Meiling appeared in the doorway.

"Sakura!" her friend stared at her in surprise, "I thought you were with Diana or somet…"

"Tomoyo's in trouble."

Meiling's eyes widened in shock.

"Huh?"

"I got this phone call from her but it wasn't from her. It was this guy and he told me to meet him in San Diego at the Hotel de Coronado and we need to be there, quick or something could happ…" Sakura babbled as Meiling tried to decipher what her friend was saying.

"Hotel de Coronado?" Meiling glanced at Marcus.

His answer was instant.

"Go."

Meiling nodded as she reached for her jacket.

"Give Lily a kiss goodnight from me," she ordered Marcus before turning to her friend, "Let's go."

The two Angels ran to Sakura's car as Marcus stood in the doorway, his eyes worried.

"Be careful," he whispered gently before stepping back and closing the door.

It swung shut with resolute bang.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol stood in the shadows, his eyes scanning the road, fire and fury burning in his mind.

Stupid.

Stupid.

Stupid.

He was so stupid! He should've never put Tomoyo in danger. He should've never called her.

And now she might be de…

A screech of tyres burning against gravel filled the air as Eriol's head snapped up. A car jerked to noisy halt as the passenger door immediately swung open. A young woman, her dark hair almost invisible in the night jumped out of the car as she scanned the area with glowing ruby eyes.

"Anyone?" a voice filled the calm night air.

Eriol caught a glimpse of auburn hair and immediately knew.

They were here.

"Nope," Meiling called back to her fellow Angel, "Doesn't seem to be any…"

Eriol stepped out of the shadows.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling froze as a flash of dark blue caught her eyes. She whirled around as a tall figure stepped out from the shadows and into the light.

"… one," she finished weakly as she studied the man.

A pair of burning dark lapis lazuli eyes bored into her own, the iris alit with something Meiling knew all too well: rage. It was only then that she realised his shirt was splattered with spots of dark blood. They stood there staring at each other but before anyone could say anything, Sakura was charging straight at him.

"Where is she?" the American Angel snarled grabbing Eriol roughly by the front of his shirt, "Where is she?"

"Sakura!" Meiling yelped as she moved forwards to stop her friend.

Before she could yank the Angel away, Sakura gave Eriol a rough shake as she continued to bark at him.

"What the hell did you do to her?"

Meiling grabbed Sakura's shoulders and jerked her away.

"Sakura, chill," Meiling ordered before turning back to the mysterious man, "You have five seconds to explain yourself and where the hell Tomoyo is, otherwise I'm going to join my friend in beating you to a pulp."

The man took a deep breath.

"My name is Eriol Hiragizawa…"

Sakura froze at his name.

"Eriol?" she said slowly, frowning in confusion, "You're Eriol?"

He nodded slowly as Sakura tried to remember where she had heard the name before…

_"Eriol got a magic sword, I got super strength and Rika…"_

She blinked.

Who? Who was it that told her that?

She blinked again.  
Lara!

The woman's smirking face flashed across her mind's eyes as memories began flooding back: the final battle in the Laotian jungle… Lara had told her that Eriol…

Meiling let out a yelp of surprise as Sakura lunged out of her grip and straight at Eriol. Her hands closed around his neck and she presented a real danger of strangling him to death. Meiling instantly reacted grabbing her friend and pulling her away hurriedly.

"Sakura!"

"You son of a bi…" Sakura began furiously.

"Sakura!" Meiling struggled to hold her friend back as Sakura continued to glare at Eriol, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"He worked for Heilang!" Sakura spat.

Meiling froze.

She slowly turned her head around.

Eriol was rubbing his throat, his eyes saddened.

He nodded slowly.

Meiling glared at him.

"You have three seconds to explain yourself."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo's head slumped against her chest as she struggled for breath, her lungs rattling noisily as she struggled to breathe through her bleeding nose.

"Ouch," she muttered finally, "That kinda hurt."

"Damn and the sass keeps on coming," Francis shook his head in amusement as he stood back to admire his handiwork, "You've got guts little girl."

"And a stylish hairstyle," Tomoyo looked up, forcing a smile onto her face, "But I don't hear you commenting on that."

Francis sighed.

"Obviously this pain and torture thing just ain't working," he frowned dramatically as he stroked his chin, "What to do… what to do… I know!"

He backhanded her across the face.

"Been there, done that," Tomoyo muttered weakly as she glared up at him, "Insert yawn."

"Fine," Francis sighed, "Okay, maybe we can come up with some kind of agreement. I've been torturing you for hours and I'm kinda hungry and tired now… so I'm going to get something to eat and you can sit here. And then we'll pick up right where we left off… okay?"

"Fine by me," Tomoyo replied icily.

Francis laughed.

"It'll be a date."

With a final twisted smile, he turned around and casually strolled towards the exit, whistling a jaunty tune as he went.

The door slammed shut behind him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I don't trust him," Sakura muttered to Meiling as they followed Eriol through the winding streets of San Diego.

"I don't either but we need to rescue Tomoyo," Meiling murmured back, keeping a careful eye on Eriol as he pushed his way through a crowd of tourists.

"I just…" Sakura huffed, "I mean he worked for Heilang! He tried to kill Tomoyo and what was his excuse? He was possessed… well la di bloody da! That's a pathetic excuse! And he's in love with Tomoyo? I mean what the hell? That's pretty twi…"

She stopped and took a deep breath.

"Why can't we just beat what he knows out of him and leave him bleeding in a ditch somewhere?"

Meiling shot her a sidelong look.

"What's with you?" she asked worriedly, "Usually, you're the calm one."

"It's just…" Sakura trailed off, "He's an assassin."

Meiling instantly realised what Sakura was getting at.

Chelsea.

No wonder Sakura was having problems.

"Sakura, chill," Meiling ordered, "As long as we keep on eyes on hi…"

She stopped as Eriol strolled into a nearby restaurant.

"Bloody hell," Meiling muttered, "Let's go."

The two Angels rushed after him, pushing through bystanders as they reached the restaurant front. Pushing the front door open, the girls strolled in to find chaos.

The sound of shouting and shattering glass assaulted their ears as a soft sob drew to their attention to the maitre d' cowering against the wall. She flinched as the two Angels stared at her.

"Please," she begged, "Don't go in the…"

She broke down into tears as Sakura and Meiling exchanged worried glances.

"He just got here," Sakura muttered as she jogged towards the main area of the restaurant, "How much dam…"

She froze.

Tables were overturned, diners cowering behind chairs and columns, trying to shield their bodies as best as they could. In the middle of the battlefield, stood Eriol, gun drawn. A cowering man was knelt before him, the barrel of the gun pressed against his head.

"Please…" the man begged, "I don…"

"Where is he?" Eriol's cold face cut him off instantly as he twisted the gun, drilling the barrel into his head, "Where is he?"

"What the hell did you do?" Meiling demanded as she stalked towards him, "We don't terrorise innocent people!"

"This man's not innocent," Eriol snapped, "He's the one who originally told me the location of Francis Dorrado and he's the only person who knows I'm hunting him. Making him the only person who could've warned Dorrado about an attack on him."

Sakura glared down at the blubbering man.

"Is this true?" she snarled, "Did you warn Dorrado?"

"No, I swear I didn…"

Before anyone could react Meiling descended on him shoving him roughly onto his back. Her leg shot out trapping the man's throat beneath the heel of her shoe.

"I press down and you die," Meiling warned, "Where is Dorrado?"

"I don…"

His face flushed a brilliant red as Meiling pressed down onto his throat, choking him. He clawed at her shoe but she refused to budge. After several seconds of struggle, she slowly released the pressure allowing him to draw in a shuddering breath.

"Where is Dorrado?"

The man considered lying again but the dangerous look in Meiling's eyes quickly changed his mind.

"He's still in his mansion," the man said finally, defeated, "He never left. There's a subterranean level to the mansion. He's hiding in there."

"How do we get to him?" Eriol snarled.

"In his office, there's a painting," the man explained slowly, "It swings open… you get in through there."

"Do we have everything?" Meiling asked looking around glancing at Sakura and Eriol, "Anything else?"

"No," Sakura shook her head, "We're good."

Meiling nodded and knelt down in front of the man.

"Just in case," she smirked impishly before knocking him out with a lightning fast punch.

The man's head fell back as Meiling stood up.

"Let's go."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo felt coldness invade her body. She shivered violently, the warmth leeching out of her muscles in constant streams of flowing red. She coughed weakly as her eyelids began to droop.

"No!" her eyes snapped open as she forced her aching body to straighten, "I can't fall asleep! I can't! Got to keep awake! Can't… fall aslee…"

If she fell asleep, she may never wake up again.

She must fight it…

But…

Blood loss… too much… no… gotta keep awake… gotta…

Darkness.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The door swung open allowing light to flood the tiny dark room as Francis peered in. The woman was unconscious.

"Ahh…" he smirked, "Sleeping beauty."

A cruel smile lit up his face as he walked slowly towards his prey, his sick grin growing wider by the second.

"If torture won't work," Dorrado smirked, "Maybe something else will…"

His hand gently touched her cheek.

"Maybe something more… intimate," Dorrado's grin was maniacal by now, "You'd like that wouldn't you… bitch?"

He grabbed her long ash-grey hair and jerked it back viciously. His other hand gently stroked her cheek.

"But this is no fun," Francis pouted dramatically, "I mean you're unconscious and all…"

His face lit up.

"I know!"

He raised his hand and slapped her brutally.

"Wakey, wakey!" he barked as he slapped her again, "Time to wake up!"

"Don't touch me!"

At the sound of her voice, Francis Dorrado stopped, his hand raised in the air.

"Oh," his smirk was back, "Look who's awake."

"Don't you dare touch me scum!" the woman snarled up at him.

Francis glared at her.

"Scum!" he hissed, "Scum! You need a good hard lesson, little gir…"

"SILENCE!"

Her voice boomed through the room as Francis froze. He looked at her, looked at her properly and felt chills run down his spine. She was awake, her eyes glaring up at him but instead of their normal lavender, they were completely black. Twin pools of darkness were staring at him.

"You dare touch me?" the woman snarled, her voice low and bestial, "You mortal filth. How dare you!"

Her eyes flashed and invisible hands tightened around his body shoving him away as the woman snarled at him.

"You'll pay!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Hey!" Sakura snarled, "You better pay for that!"

She glared at her attacker as she continued to yell at him.

"You know how much this blouse cost?" she demanded, "You know how much!"

Her attacker slashed at her with his knife again but Sakura easily dodged the clumsy attack before cracking him across the face with an open palm strike. His head snapped to the side as Sakura kicked him in the stomach. He fell onto his back, out cold.

"Damn it," Sakura swore fingering the cut on her blouse, "I just bought this!"

"And if you're done?"

Sakura whirled around as Meiling calmly dropped her opponent to the ground. He too was out cold.

"Done," Sakura smiled cheerfully as they followed Eriol down the hallway.

A gunshot rang out as a choked scream filled the air, a guard slumped to his knees, his chest a mess of blood and torn flesh, as Eriol ruthlessly brushed past him. Sakura and Meiling exchanged worried looks as they hurried after the man.

Eriol swerved around the corner before coming to a halt in front of a set of oaken doors, the two Angels halting beside him.

"This it?" Meiling asked.

Eriol nodded briskly.

"This is it," he confirmed.

He calmly raised his gun and fired. The bullet slammed into the doorknob tearing it asunder into useless scraps of metal as Eriol knocked the door open. He quickly rushed across the room, his shoes sinking into the expensive Persian carpet that layered the floor before coming to a stop in front of the huge oil painting hanging on the opposite wall.

"If what that man said was right," Meiling said slowly, "That's got to be the en…"

His face unreadable, Eriol fired at the painting. The bullet easily punched through flimsy canvas leaving behind a neat round hole before it smashed into something underneath, its trajectory coming to an abrupt halt with a loud bang.

"… trance," Meiling finished weakly.

"Must be something hard underneath," Sakura muttered as Eriol slid his finger into the hole.

With a small grunt of exertion, he tore a large section of the canvas away from the frame revealing a solid metal wall behind the painting.

"God damn it," he hissed as he began to attack the canvas once more.

"Stop," Sakura grabbed his arm as he prepared to pull another piece of the painting away, "Don't you remember what that man said? This painting swings open."

"We don't have time to figure out how to do that!" Eriol snapped.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and we have enough time to pull the canvas away bit by bit," she drawled, "Just get out of my way."

Before Eriol could retort, Sakura pushed him away as she stepped up to the painting.

"Okay, painting," she smirked, "Let's find your secret."

She ran her fingers across the gold gilded frame, searching for anything unusual as Eriol glared at her.

"Just do this my way!" he snarled, "You'll nev…"

"Click."

The frame swung open revealing a heavy metal door underneath. Sakura smirked at Eriol as the man fell silent.

Meiling whistled as she noticed the impressive size dent the bullet had made in the door.

"Must be tough," she noted.

"Mmmm…" Sakura was already examining the locking device on the door, "Impressive."

"Can you open it?" Eriol demanded impatiently.

Sakura shot him an annoyed look.

"Sure."

Before Eriol could react, Sakura snatched the gun from his hands and fired.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

A swift kick finished off the mangled lock as another kick forced the metal door to open revealing a flight of concrete stairs.

"Done," Sakura beamed, returning the gun to Eriol before stepping through the doorway. She turned to her companions who were staring at her in shock.

"Coming?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Before Francis's astonished eyes, the cuts and bruises on Tomoyo's face began to heal themselves leaving behind unblemished skin as she continued to glare at him with inhuman rage.

"You fly," she spat, "You little flea! You bug! I'm going to crush you!"

Suddenly she stopped, a puzzled look came over her face as she cocked her head to the side.

"Ahh… the rescue train coming is right on time," she smirked at Francis who was still staring at her in astonishment, "Damn. There were so many things I wanted to do to you. But hey, a girl can't get everything she wants right?"

Francis's head whipped towards the doorway as the sound of footsteps and screams began to echo in from the hallway.

"See, this is what's going to happen. This shell's friends are coming and they're going to kill you. I'm going to watch and laugh," a cruel smile flashed across Tomoyo's face, "And you know what's the funniest thing?"

She leaned forwards, her black eyes flashing. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper as though she was murmuring some dark secret to him.

"They don't even know I'm here."

Francis's eyes widened.

"BANG!"

The door burst open.

"BAM!"

A bullet tore into Francis Dorrado's brain as his lifeless body slumped to the ground, blood gushing from the gaping hole in his head.

"Moyo!" Meiling ignored Dorrado's bloody corpse as she ran to her friend.

Her friend was out cold, slumped against her bonds as Eriol stood at the doorway, his eyes not fixed upon the man he had just killed but on Tomoyo, watching as Meiling tore at the bonds binding her friend.

Soon she was free.

Meiling let out a low sigh of relief as she helped her friend to stand. Eriol was instantly by her side, helping her support Tomoyo.

"Do you hav…" Sakura appeared in the doorway, hair dishevelled, knocked out guards sprawled out in the doorway behind her.

She stopped as she caught sight of Francis's body. For a minute, she seemed shocked at the brutality of his death but slowly a grim smile appeared across her face.

"Is she okay?" she asked instead running towards her friend.

Eriol stepped aside silently allowing the two Angels to look after their friend.

"She seems fine," Meiling replied quickly, "Some bruises and cuts… nothing too serious. I don't think there's anything broken or any internal damage."

'Good," Sakura nodded, "Let's get her out of here and to the nearest hospital."

They began shuffling towards the doorway, carrying the still unconscious Tomoyo between them. Eriol made to follow them but stopped, hesitating, not sure if they wanted him to or not. As if reading his mind, Meiling turned her head around to look at him.

"Are you coming or not?" she demanded.

Eriol nodded hurriedly and they left the room.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"They said you wanted to see me."

Tomoyo nodded. Eriol was standing at the head of her hospital bed, looking down at her. For the longest time, they just stared at each other, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry," Eriol said finally, his voice soft and sincere.

"I know."

Another poignant silence followed.

"Eriol," Tomoyo stopped, not knowing what she was actually trying to say, "I… this is never going to work."

Eriol just stared at her.

"You… you promised me," she continued sadly, "You promised me you've changed but you haven't changed a bit."

"No!" Eriol shouted fiercely, "Tomoyo! I have changed, I'm not the sa…"

"You're a murderer."

Tomoyo's blunt voice scythed through Eriol's anger, cutting him off instantly.

"I don't care who you're hunting now. It doesn't matter. The truth is you were an assassin then and you're an assassin now," Tomoyo closed her eyes sadly, "You're still a murderer."

Eriol stared at her, face pale, not knowing what to say.

"As long as you are what you are now. This is never going to work," Tomoyo opened her eyes, the lavender irises were gleaming with unshed tears, "I love you. I did then and I still do now. But this isn't some fairytale book. This isn't some romantic novel. This is the real world… sometimes love just isn't enough. And I don't think our love is strong enough if you're still an assa…"

Her voice trailed off as she swallowed, trying to fight back tears but it was useless struggle. Tears rolled down her face as she struggled to continue.

"Eriol, I'm sorry," she said softly, "Unless you completely change… there can be nothing between us."

Her voice broke on the last word.

"I'm sorry but that's the truth. It's harsh and unfair… but it's the truth."

When Eriol finally spoke, his voice was a ghost of a whisper, overflowing with sadness.

"I know."

Tomoyo nodded.

"Can you… please… just go?" she asked softly, a world of sadness reverberating in her voice, "I need to rest."

Without even looking at her, Eriol nodded and walked away from her bed, walking away from her, away, out of her life possibly forever. And when his form disappeared around the corner, Tomoyo felt the tears began again.

And this time she didn't tried to stop them.

She just let them fall.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Well, Eriol's gone for now but I promise you… HE'LL BE BACK!

Next chapter:

The truth behind what the Cobra Mark was doing in Paris is revealed and the Angels go on a mission to stop this new deadly threat from ever emerging. Their journey takes them to Germany where they unexpectedly run into a very familiar figure from their past who's looking for something completely unexpected… find out the whos, whats and hows in… Legacy

A/Notes: I've noticed a lot of people asking me if I actually fight since I write really long fight scenes. Well, the answer is… I don't. I'm just someone who firmly believes an action story should contain action, not just a couple lines like he punched, she dodged, she punched back but something really detailed so it feels like you're watching a movie. And I learn about these fighting moves from some research and watching action movies… and I really hope you're enjoying the action.

Well magic's reappearing again in this story and it will play a pivotal part in what's to come.

A lot of people have been concerned about the planned angst and having already written some of it, I have to say this angst isn't something I just threw in for the fun of it. I planned for a long time what to do and how this will affect the characters and trust me when I say the story really takes off after the revelation in Chapter 10… which means:

THREE MORE CHAPTERS UNTIL CHAPTER 10, THE ONE IN WHICH EVERYTHING CHANGES!


	8. Legacy

Sorry about the massive delay! School's been busy and kicking my butt! As usual more reviews means quicker updates (hopefully) 

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah see previously.

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 7: Legacy **

"Not long now…"

"You've been touched by revenge before haven't you?"

"It's coming, Sakura…"

"An angel shall fall into darkness…"

"It burns and burns and burns."

"…and when she arises…"

"She'll get everything…"

"…her ascension will herald the end."

"… and you'll get nothing…"

"The evil that men do…"

"… nothing…"

"… lives beyond them…"

"Change is coming…"

"… but the good is oft interred…"

"…. the big one…"

"… with their bones."

"… the storm."

"The legacy…"

"She's coming…"

"GOLDILOCKS!"

"ARGH!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"ARGH!"

Sakura shot up, sweat pouring down her face. Gasping, she looked around her dark bedroom in confusion.

They had been talking to her… so many voices. Chelsea's, her mother's, others that she didn't even recognise.

But the things they said….

Sakura took a deep calming breath before closing her eyes wearily and flopping backwards onto her back.

"What a weird dream."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"ARGH!"

"Wha…" Marcus opened his eyes sleepily, "What's wrong?"

"I'm late!"

Meiling let out another frustrated cry as she leapt out of bed and began searching for her shirt.

"Damn it," Meiling cried, "I'm going to be late!"

"For what?"

"A meeting with Syaoran and the girls," Meiling let out a low sigh of frustration as she continued her search for her missing shirt, "Apparently Tomoyo's managed to decipher the disks we took from Paris. She's going to tell us what she found today… but…"

Marcus helpfully located her shirt and handed it to her. Smiling gratefully at him, Meiling pulled it on before slipping into a pair of jeans. Finding her wristwatch, she put that on too.

"Sorry, but I've got to go," she bent down and gave Marcus a quick kiss before disappearing out the door.

In the hallway, Meiling glanced up at her watch and grimaced.

She was going to be late.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Good morning, Angels."

"Good morning, Syaoran!"

The three Angels sat across from the speaker box, lounging on the comfortable leather sofa as Syaoran spoke again.

"Tomoyo, I believe you have finally managed to decipher the disks and hard drives you took from the Cobra Mark headquarters in Paris?"

Tomoyo gave a slight nod, a grim look on her face.

"Yeah, I managed to decipher them," she said quietly.

She stood up, picking up two files from the small coffee table in front of her and handing them to her fellow Angels.

"Apparently Cobra Mark has managed to create a new type of explosive device," she explained, "This new bomb as I can best understand it, is completely undetectable by most conventional forms of detection…"

"Detection?" Sakura asked with a frown, "What do you mean?"

"Metal detectors, dog sniffers… even Geiger counters," Tomoyo sighed, "Which leads me to believe that this bomb is nuclear in nature… there's no telling the damage this thing can do."

Meiling and Sakura gulped at the thought of an undetectable nuclear device falling into the wrong hands.

"This new bomb, nicknamed the Silencer, is extremely small," Tomoyo continued, "Another thing that makes it highly desirable to terrorist networks but its power is extremely deadly. According to the data I found, one bomb has the capacity to wipe out at least twelve blocks of building."

"Has such a bomb been created yet?" Syaoran asked worriedly, "Do we know who has them?"

Tomoyo shook her head.

"No, none has been created yet. Only one person knew how to make these and that was Leon Marseil… and he's dead," Tomoyo let out a long sad sigh, "Unfortunately Marseil was forced to draw up schematics for this bomb and Anthony made numerous copies of these and sold them off to the highest bidder…"

"What?" Meiling squawked, "Are you saying that the designs for a silent A-bomb has been sold to god knows how many terrorist cells all over the world?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

Meiling paled.

"Oh god."

"Don't worry," Tomoyo quickly reassured her, "Only about seven were sold. These schematics are stored on disks but are heavily encrypted. They need a specially designed program known as the Decoder to read them. Anthony made them pay half the agreed price before giving the disk to them and would later give them the Decoder program when the full price was paid. Fortunately it seems that we stopped Anthony before he could give any of his buyers the Decoder program."

"Thank god," Sakura let out a low sigh of relief, "Wait. How do we know the Decoder program works?"

"You know the files we took from Evan Solomon?"

Sakura nodded.

"Amongst those papers, we find some sheets that seemed to have complete gibberish on them," Tomoyo explained, "Those was the decrypted schematics. They're completely unreadable. But there's a slight chance one of those terrorist cells would figure out a way to decipher them… which could only lead to doom and gloom."

Syaoran let out a low sigh.

"Well, it's clear what you have to do," the man commanded them, "Find the disks and retrieve them before they can be decoded. Tomoyo… do you know where they're located?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"The files show that the disks are spread out all across the globe… I believe we should tackle an unknown buyer in Germany first."

"Why Germany?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"Because Germany has no active terrorist network that anyone is aware of," Tomoyo explained, "If there is a network running…"

"We must stop it," Sakura finished with a sigh, "Germany… sounds good. As long as it's not Paris…"

Syaoran let out a small laugh.

"Okay, it sounds like you Angels are heading off to Germany. Good job decrypting the disks Tomoyo," their boss praised, "Remember girls, those disks must be retrieved at all costs. Good luck and goodbye."

"Goodbye Syaoran!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"BOOM!"

Glass shattered raining down onto the earth in cascades of razor shards as a dark form sailed through the air. A loud thud filled the night air as it landed heavily onto the dew-frosted ground.

"Owww…" a low moan of pain could be heard over the sound of harsh breathing.

But this was quickly cut off as a rose bush nearby began rustling violently, a strange red glowing infusing the delicate blood red petals. The earth around it began bulging and shaking as something underneath struggled to break free from the soil's loamy grip.

"ARGH!"

A vine, armed with lethal thorns, burst free from the ground and shot out like a striking serpent latching around its victim's arms. Thorns dug deep into the flesh drawing ruby drops of blood as more vines burst from the ground, arching high overhead before lashing down with deadly force.

"HUO!"  
A blast of blue flames struck the vines reducing them to blackened twigs as the rose bush's would-be victim slowly crawled to her feet shaking off the charred vine's broken grip.

"Damn," Nivaline Sarah Thomas sighed, "Failed again."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"We're now approaching Berlin International Airport," the pilot's calm voice came over the speakers, "Please put on your seatbelts as we prepare to land."

Tomoyo buckled on her seatbelt and leaned back into her chair as the plane began to descend. Unseen by her, Sakura and Meiling exchanged worried glances. Ever since they had gotten back from San Diego, Tomoyo had withdrawn into herself, spending all her time decrypting the disks they had taken from Paris. Even now sitting here beside them, Tomoyo was silent, her eyes slightly unfocused as her thoughts consumed all her attention.

"Moyo?" Sakura asked gently, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Tomoyo turned her head towards her.

"About what?"

"San Diego… Eriol…"

Tomoyo slowly blinked, a strange look flashing across her face.

"There's nothing to talk about," she said slowly, a tone of finality in her voice.

"Tomoy…" Meiling began.

"I'm tired," the Japanese Angel said curtly, cutting her off, "Can you please leave me alone?"

Sakura and Meiling let out twin sighs of exasperation before nodding. Tomoyo closed her eyes and sank back into her chair as her two fellow Angels exchanged worried looks.

Something had to be done.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline growled dangerously under her breath as she stalked around her hotel room, her hazel eyes flashing with anger.

"ARGH!" with a cry of frustration, she lashed out kicking a nearby chair with her shoed foot.

The chair's leg snapped under the attack causing the furniture to crash to the ground. Nivaline stared, eyes wide with shock, at the wreckage before taking a deep calming breath.

"Okay, Nivaline," she growled, "Focus here… focus."

She began pacing around the room again.

"Okay… Garrett's too powerful," she muttered, "the protection spell he has are too powerful. I can't hold them off all by myself and search for the journal."

She let out another small sigh of frustration before flinging herself onto the hotel bed.

"Great," she moaned, "All I need to do is find a very powerful magic source in Germany… how hard can that be?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"So… all we have to do is get her to talk to one of us…" Sakura sighed, "How hard can that be?"

Meiling let out a low groan.

"You know Tomoyo. If she doesn't want to talk, she won't talk and there's no way we can make her."

Sakura frowned.

"Well, we could always tie her up…"

She caught Meiling's look.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Sakura protested, "Jeez… sense of humour needed much?"

Meiling sighed.

"Well, we can't go on this mission if we're not all a hundred percent focused," she pointed out, "We'll have to abort."

Sakura snorted.

"Please! When Tomoyo's upset she hides it all and throws herself headfirst into work," she muttered, "At this point? She's more focused than both of us put together."

As if on cue, the door swung open revealing Tomoyo standing in the doorway. Her face was pale but her eyes were determined.

"We leave in two hours," she said shortly before closing the door and walking back to her own hotel room.

Sakura threw a knowing look at Meiling.

"See?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline stood at her hotel room window, her eyes gazing out through the pristine glass, which peered out onto the city night lights below but her gaze was unfocused staring at something she alone could see.

She blinked, breaking her own internal trance. A small frown twisted her delicate features as she gently raised her hand, touching the cold glass with the tips of her fingers causing the glass around her hand to fog up on contact.

"I can feel it," Nivaline murmured as she focused again, sending her magic once more through the city.

Garrett's magic was everywhere, unseen to the normal eye but to Nivaline's magic it was like a dark veil enshrouding the whole city, like an army of shadowy spiders that crawled along every wall and every road. But now there was something else…

She felt an ancient power surge throughout the city tearing the shadows to shred. Felt that power as it threw roots into the ground and draw up energy from the earth. Felt the power as it soared to the skies.

Nivaline's eyes snapped open.

"What the hell?"

She stared out the window again, trying to sense where this strange new power was coming from. It was frightening how powerful this new magic was, her own powers were mere smouldering embers compared to the inferno of this new source. Her mind followed the rippling energy, trying to backtrack to its source. Suddenly her mind brushed up against something familiar.

Her eyes flew open.

"The girls!"

With a small gasp, she whirled away from the window and ran out the door.

She knew where the power was coming from.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Tomoyo, are you getting this?" Sakura whispered into her comm-link.

'_Yeah, I am,' _Tomoyo's voice replied, slightly distorted by static.

"This is not going to be an easy to crack," Sakura muttered as she peered through her night vision binoculars again.

Small digital dials displayed an array of data to her as she peered through the visor, the world fading from complete darkness to emerald green as the binoculars showed her her surroundings.

A soaring fence made of thick iron bars welded together formed the first layer of protection but dark shapes moving in the garden beyond told her that there was guard dogs about. What lay beyond that was anyone's guess, the binoculars' powers couldn't penetrate the shadows that lay over the mansion proper.

"How's Meiling going?"

'_She went around the other side but it's pretty much the same… fence and dogs,' _Tomoyo sighed, '_I check the surrounding power line blueprints… I think the fence is electrified.'_

"Damn it!" Sakura growled, "Man, does this guy have a moat full of vicious piranhas as well? This place is like a fortress's wet dream!"

'_You better come back to the car… we need a plan.'_

"Definitely," Sakura agreed as she began crawling out from the bush she had entrenched herself in, "I'll be there in a few minutes. Over and out."

'_Okay, see you then. Over and out.'_

Silence filled the air as Sakura threw one last glance at the mansion sprawled out behind her.

She shivered.

Somehow the night seemed full of watching eyes and whispery voices reminding her of the bizarre dream she had before.

Not long now…

Another shiver coursed through her body.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura asked anxiously staring up at the imposing

"Not really," Meiling shrugged, "But what could possibly go wrong?"

A noticeable silence followed her statement. When Sakura finally replied, her voice was overflowing with sarcasm.

"Jeez, I really, really wonder," she muttered, "I could a) hit the fence and become Kentucky Fried Sakura and need I remind you crispy skin is _so_ not the look for this year, b) get impaled on the fence itself or c) clear the fence and end as Snoopy and Spot's new chew toy."

"Or alternatively you could clear the fence, get past the dogs…" Meiling began optimistically.

"And run headfirst into unknown territory all by my lonesome?" Sakura demanded, "I've seen the horror movies, that plan never ends up well."

"Sakura, you can easily clear the fence," Tomoyo cut in smoothly, stopping any further arguments, "And the dogs plus any extra guards will be drawn away when I trigger the alarm. Anything else you can easily handle by yourself."

Sakura stared at her but the Japanese Angel was adamant with her decision. Seeing exactly the same expression on Meiling's face, Sakura let out a low sigh.

"Damn peer pressure," she growled, "Next you'll have me doing drugs… fine! I'll go! Let's get this over and done with!"

Tomoyo and Meiling nodded before taking up their positions. They crouched down low on either sides of Sakura, their hands outstretched, fingers intertwined forming twin cradles. The plan was that Sakura would take a short run-up, jump and plant her feet into her fellow Angels' cradled hands. They would then help fling her up and over the fence, it was a simple and effective plan… in theory but as Sakura had learnt on numerous missions before theory didn't necessarily translate into reality. Shoving her doubts aside, Sakura took a deep breath and began running.

Leafs and twigs slapped at her face as she continued sprinting towards her friend, building up more and more speed. Her dark surroundings became a moving blur as she took a deep breath and leapt with all her mig…

"STOP!"

"WAH!"

Sakura let out loud yelp as she stumbled forwards, landing painfully flat on her face. Meiling and Tomoyo jumped up in surprise as Sakura let out a low moan of pain.

"Owww…"

"What the hell?" Meiling barked as she and Tomoyo both whirled around towards the source of the voice.

Sakura slowly crawled to her feet as the dark bushes around them began to shake as someone pressed through the dense foliage. All three Angels slipped into fighting stances as a dark shape emerged.

"Don't do that," the figure told them calmly.

"Who the hel…" Meiling's eyes widened as she caught the figure's face, "Nivaline!"

Sakura and Tomoyo let out twin gasps of surprise as Nivaline gave them a small smile but her hazel-green eyes were still deadly serious.

"What are you doin…" Sakura trailed off, "What do you mean don't do that? Nivaline, what's going on?"

Nivaline let out a low sigh.

"Do you even know who this mansion belongs to?"

Tomoyo frowned in confusion at the question.

"It belongs to some German millionaire or something," she caught the look on Nivaline's face, "… doesn't it?"

In response to her question, Nivaline merely knelt down and scooped up an arm-sized stick from the loamy damp ground. Without batting an eyelid, she hurled the stick at the fence.

"BOOM!"

A red wall of energy flared into the life reducing the stick to smoking cinders. The three Angels stared at the seemingly benevolent fence in utter shock, their jaws gaping.

"This mansion…" Nivaline began, adopting a teacher's lecturing tone, "… belongs to a man known as Garrett Huss who also happens to be one of the most powerful dark mages on this planet."

"And who wanted me to jump the fence again?" Sakura muttered to no one in particular, her glares however were directed at her friends.

Meiling merely shrugged.  
"Whoops."

"Whoops?" Sakura bristled, "I almost got reduced to ash and that's all you can say? Whoops?"

"I was going to go with good riddance but I felt that was a bit much," Meiling smirked.

Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously but Nivaline hurriedly stepped in stopping any further arguments.

"We better get away from here," she said hurriedly, a worried look on her face, "Garrett would've sensed the barrier being activated and trust me when I say you won't like to meet him when he's seriously annoyed."

She began to turn away as the Angels hurried after her.

"How powerful is he?" Tomoyo demanded as they pushed through the surrounding bushes that hid them from view.

"Yeah, I mean he's like one of those cheesy Harry Potter villains isn't he?" Sakura added hopefully.

Nivaline shot her a deadly serious look.

"Garrett's powers are almost equal to that of Okami Noir's," she warned, "If he was after you, your best option would be to put a bullet in your head before he catches and eviscerates you alive… never underestimates his power or his cruelty."

The three Angels stared at her, faces pale. Nivaline gave them a small smile.

"But don't worry," she said cheerfully, "I think I know how to beat him."

"What?" Sakura yelped, "How?"

"Easy," Nivaline winked at them, "With your help."

"Us?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Garrett Huss?" Syaoran's voice was decidedly grave, "I want you to abort the mission immediately."

"The what with the huh now?" Meiling blinked in confusion, "You want us to abort?"

"That's exactly what I said!" Syaoran snapped.

The three Angels started at Syaoran's harsh tone; an awkward silence descended onto the room before their boss let out a low sigh and began explaining.

"Garrett is powerful and dangerous. His powers far exceed anyone else's. You can't hope to defeat him."

"Hey!" Meiling protested, "Talking to the chosen three here! You know the cards and magic and stuff? We're the ones who kicked the Void's ass and sent her from whence she came!"

"But you don't have the cards and without them your powers are useless," Syaoran pointed out, "It's too dangerous, you must leave immediately before he senses yo…"  
"There maybe a way," Nivaline said quietly.

The speaker device Tomoyo had set up fell silent.

"What?"

"There're maybe a way," Nivaline repeated, "Garrett's is powerful, yes but Meiling's right these girls are way stronger than him."

"But they can't use their powers!" Syaoran argued.

Nivaline nodded.

"I know that but I can tap into their powers… I can be their focus. I could use their powers to stop him."

"Is that even possible?" Tomoyo cut in, "I mean if we can't use them how can you?"

Nivaline sighed.

"Trust me, Tomoyo. I know I can do it. I don't even need all of you. One of you would be enough. I could tap into one of you and use her powers to neutralise Garrett's defence spells and use it to hamper him. The other two can sneak in and take that disk you're after…"

"Wait," Sakura stared at Nivaline, "How come you're after Garrett?"

A small smile flashed across Nivaline's face.

"I was thinking you'd be the one to ask me," she said quietly.

Her voice strengthened.

"I'm after something Garrett has… a powerful artefact that must be kept away from him.

"What?" Meiling asked in confusion, "What does he have?"

Nivaline turned to the speaker device knowing full well that Syaoran was listening in intently.

"I'm after Clow Reed's final journals."

Gasps of surprise punctuated the air.

"What?" Tomoyo was staring at the Elder in shock, "What?"

"I believe Garrett has possession of Clow Reed's final journals… the ones written just before his death," Nivaline paused, "Well, not the actual journals as those would've rotted away long ago since they're just bamboo strips and all… but copies… very accurate copies in fact…"

She caught the look on the Angels faces and coughed slightly.

"Anyway… Who knows what is written in them and what damage they could do in the wrong hands… that's why I need to have them. To keep them away from people like Garrett."

"That seals it," Sakura said decisively, "We're going in."

Syaoran sighed, knowing that though extremely dangerous this mission was vital.

"Nivaline," he said gently, "Are you sure you can stop Garrett."

"Positive… or at least in a neighbourhood nearby," Nivaline sighed, "I won't know until I try."

"Don't worry. You'll pull it off easily," Tomoyo said calmly, "But who's staying and who's going?"

"Yeah, what's the plan?" Meiling asked, "Who's Nivaline going to tap into?"

"Me."

Everyone stared at Sakura.

"You?"

Sakura nodded.

"You'll need Tomoyo in the mansion just in case Garrett's got your usual hi-tech protection and Meiling's a strong fighter," Sakura pointed out, "I'm the best candidate."

"Okay," Syaoran agreed, "Meiling, Tomoyo, you two will wait near the mansion whilst Nivaline and Sakura try to neutralise Garrett. When they succeed they'll signal you to go in."

"Signal how?" Tomoyo asked, a dubious look on her face.

"Don't worry, you'll physically see the magical barrier fall," Nivaline reassured her, "That'll be the signal."

"Okay, plan. Check. Objectives: retrieve disk and Clow Reed's journal. Check. Adrenaline and nerves. Check," Sakura nodded, "I say we're ready to rock and roll."

"Sakura's right. Proceed as soon as possible," Syaoran told them, "We need to catch Garrett unawares. Remember watch out. Goodbye Angels… goodbye Nivaline. Good luck."

"Bye, Syaoran!"

The speaker device went dead as Nivaline turned to the Angels.

"Okay, this is what we'll need."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Two words broke the silence, sailing through the night and into Tomoyo's ears.

"Anything yet?" Meiling asked.

Tomoyo shook her head, her eyes scanning the fences that protected Garrett's mansion.

"Nothing," she said with a sigh.

The two Angels was crouched down behind several bushes near Garrett's stronghold, hidden by both the foliage and the darkness as they waited for Nivaline and Sakura's spell to kick in.

"Do you think they can do it?" Meiling asked slowly, naming the unspoken fear that hung in the air between them.

Tomoyo sighed.

"They better."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Shadows danced in the wall in a ghostly dance as they sat across from each other, hazel-green and emerald meeting each other in a determined stare.

"Ready?" Nivaline asked gently.

"Ready."

The ring of burning candles around them flickered, the shadows on the walls jerking violently in response as Nivaline slowly picked a small clear bottle filled with what appeared to be purple sand.

"From earth and air, heart and mind, spirit and soul, I cast thee out," she said slowly pouring the sand in a smooth circle around them, "Let the light shine forth and cast the shadows away. Let fire and air fill this sacred space. Let water and earth protect this sacred ground. With the strength of the elements, the strength of the moon and sun and the strength inside me, I cast thee out."

The candle flames began to stir as an invisible wind swept around them in a graceful swirling dance. Nivaline slowly held out her hand. Knowing what she had to do, Sakura extended hers, fingers outstretched, palms wide open. Nivaline reached across and clutched her hand in a firm grip as she continued.

"Blessed be the name of the Goddess. We, your most humble daughters, ask that we may draw on your eternal strength in this direst hour," Nivaline's voice softened until it was a mere whisper, so quiet that it seemed that no sounds had escaped from her moving lips, "So mote it be."

Her grip around Sakura's hand tightened almost painfully as Nivaline began chanting under her breath, her words fast and whispery.

"The hidden door, the unseen fey. Janus, open up the way. The hidden door, the unseen fey. Janus, open up the way. The hidden door, the unsee…"

The chant continued faster and faster as Sakura joined in, their two voices mingling in the sense. Their eyes closed as the sand around them began to glow with amethyst light.

"The hidden door, the unseen fey. Janus, open up the way."

Their chanting continued as the candles began to flare up, their tiny flames morphing into a huge raging inferno that formed a ring of fire around the two women's body.

"The hidden door, the unseen fe…"

Suddenly with no warning at all, the candles snuffed out plunging the room into darkness, the only points of light being the intense red of the still smouldering wicks but the spell continued, undisturbed.

"The hidden door, the unseen fey. Janus, open up th…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"BOOM!"

Meiling and Tomoyo jumped up in surprise as the mansion's gate suddenly burst open. A harsh howling wind whipped through the bushes as the moon was suddenly plunged behind a cloak of dark clouds.

"What the hell?" Meiling and Tomoyo exchanged worried looks as they stood up slowly, watching the wide-open gate carefully. It creaked noisily as the wild winds swung the gate backwards and forwards slamming it open and shut.

"Did the spell work or something?" Tomoyo whispered to her friend, "Cause the creep factor around here just got jacked up to a hundred and something."

"I don't know," Meiling murmured back, "Should we chec…"

"BAM!"

Suddenly with no warning at a burst of crackling purple energy lanced through the darkness slamming into the two Angels. They were flung violently through the air as another burst of energy tore the surrounding bushes into flaming mulch. The two girls hit the ground heavily as a sneering voice rent the night.

"Welcome little girls to my domain."

A figure stepped through the gate. From their position on the ground, the girls stared up into dark crackling eyes and knew that this was Garrett Huss.

"Shall we play?" he smirked.

Another blast of purple energy shrieked through the air.

Sakura felt like she was flying through a land of shadows. The room around her had long faded away from her consciousness leaving her in a dreamy world of swirling mist and darkness.

"The hidden door, the unseen fey. Janus, open up the way. The hidden door, the unsee…"

Dimly she was aware that Nivaline's hand was clutched tightly around her own. Their chanting intensified, picking up speed and volume as the world around her began to swirl ferociously.

"Janus, open up the way. The hidden door, the unseen fey…"

Her breathing stumbled, a violent tremble rocking through her body. Her eyes flew open, staring unseeingly into Nivaline's face as her jaw dropped, stunned beyond belief.

"The hidden door, the unseen fey. Janus, open up the way," Nivaline continued as Sakura began to gasp for breath.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god," she whimpered as Nivaline continued to chant, "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. Oh go…"

Her head suddenly snapped backwards forcing her to stare up at the roof, her emerald irises flashing to twin pools of molten gold.

The spell was working.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling and Tomoyo hurriedly leapt away as the purple energy slammed into the ground gouging a smoking trench into the hard earth.

"Missed!" Meiling taunted as Garrett glowered at her.

Now that she was looking at him properly, Meiling was extremely unimpressed. Garrett was a stick insect of a man, thin bony limbs with pale white blemished skin stretched taut across them. His eyes were small dark slits glaring out from a pallid face with a red slash of a mouth and a long hooked nose with flaring nostrils. His greasy black hair flapped in the wild wind as he held up his thin bony hands, arcs of purple energy danced around his long fingers as he glared at the two Angels.

"How dare you think I did not notice your previous pathetic attempt to invade my home," he spat, "And for that you'll pay with your lives!"

"You're the most powerful mage on the planet?" Tomoyo demanded incredulously, "Whoa, were they judging you by the 'Worst Lame-ass Villain Reject of the Year' competition? Because I'm a little light on the scared factor."

Garrett glared at her and hurled the bolt of dark energy crackling in his hands straight at the Japanese Angel. The energy coalesced into a single blinding beam as Tomoyo hurriedly leapt away, the attack narrowly missing her before skewering the ground creating another smoking crater. Tomoyo landed nimbly before sticking out her tongue at him.

"Nah-nah-nah-nah," she taunted in a singsong voice, "Missed me."

Garrett let out a senseless bellow of rage before raising his hand to hurl another bolt of energy at her but before he could move an iron-hard grip tightened around his wrist stopping his throw.

"Don't think so, Wizard of Oz," Meiling smirked into his face as she wrenched his hand back painfully, "Give it up."

In response, Garrett rolled his eyes.

"BAM!"

In a blindingly fast move, too quick to see, Meiling was sent flying through the air. Tomoyo gaped in shock as her friend sailed through the night before landing roughly at her feet.

"Cra…"

"BAM!"

An invisible fist slammed into Tomoyo's stomach driving the air from her lungs as Garrett began to assault the two Angels with his dark magic. Invisible opponents flew through the air at them, punching and kicking at them with unseen hands and feet as the two Angels flailed under the attack. Meiling tried to crawl to her feet but an unseen fist slammed into the back of her head, knocking her down violently. Tomoyo was push to the ground by ghostly hands as her ribs exploded with pain, spectral feet kicking her violently in the chest.

"ARGH!" Tomoyo tried to fend their invisible attackers off but cold ethereal fingers ripped into her face drawing long bloody scratches.

A second hand slammed into her throat forcing a choked scream of pain from her body. Meiling's head snapped from side to side as ghostly fists smashed into her face over and over again.

She struggled to get up but an invisible force shoved her back down, pinning her to the ground as unseen fists continued to slam into her body. She was beginning to weaken under the assault, beginning to lose feeling in her body, beginning to…

Beginning to die.

Darkness clawed at her awareness as Meiling struggled to hold on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Oh god."

Sakura felt the air leave her lungs as a burst of gold light shot out from her body forming a glowing orb that hung in the air between Nivaline and her. It floated there for several seconds before exploding like a dying star's final moment unleashing a nova of golden light. Wild winds materialised, encircling the two women. Within the fierce maelstrom, Nivaline sat calmly as she uttered the final words of the spell, her eyes shining with determination and power. The wind roared as it increased in power, the candles bursting into flames once more unleashing columns of blinding flames into the air. A pulse of gold power burst from Sakura; a ring of shimmering energy, rippling out from its source. It expanded, picking up speed as it began to fly away from them.

It howled through the city, shooting towards it destination as Sakura blinked.

The trance was broken.

The spell was done.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Warmth.

Meiling's eyes snapped open.

An immense feeling of warmth swept through her body as gentle breezed brushed against her face, the scent of flowers filling her senses. Like ice melting under the sun's radiant glare, the invisible hands faded away as quickly as they had came. Slowly Meiling crawled to her feet and looked at Garrett. The man was blasting the air around him with dark bursts of energy but it was hopeless, a wave of gold light borne by the warm scented breeze was whipping itself around him forming a loose ring of golden power that began to tighten around him like a shimmering serpent. He fought and fought and fought but each blast of power seemed only to strengthen the light. With a final helpless scream, the golden light rammed into him infusing his body with its incredible light. His body stiffened, held rigid by the power roaring through him as he levitated off the ground held tightly by Nivaline and Sakura's spell.

Helplessly he hung in the air, his body and magic bounded and useless.

Calmly Meiling helped Tomoyo up before walking slowly towards the helpless mage, looking into his scrawny face, Meiling cocked her fist back and with a vicious punch knocked him out. His head slumped backwards, pale skin lit up by the gold light that held him captive.

Meiling turned back to Tomoyo.

"Let's go."

With purposeful strides, Meiling walked into Garrett's stronghold.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"So you got it?" Sakura asked from her position on the bed.

Meiling gave her a wicked smile before showing her the disk they had taken from Garrett's mansion.

"One disk," she smirked, "And…"

She pulled out the second thing they had retrieved. A thick leather-covered book yellowed and crinkled with age.

"One copy of Clow Reed's infamous-New-York-bestseller journal."

She immediately passed it to Nivaline as the Elder beamed in pleasure.

"Thanks," she said sincerely.

Tomoyo sighed as she stood up from where she had been siting on the edge of Sakura's bed.

"I'm tired," she announced suddenly, "I'm going to bed."

Before anyone could say anything, Tomoyo had already disappeared out the door. Sakura let out a low sad sigh.

"She's still not dealing," she noted.

"Damn right," Meiling muttered, "Man, we need to get help or something."

"Girls," Nivaline cut in gently, "You told me what happened and trust me, Tomoyo needs to deal with this in her own way. Just leave her be, when she wants to talk to you, she will."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed, "But when would that be?"

No one had any answers.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A horrifying ancient voice tore through the air. It boomed around her, low and guttural, old and powerful. It ripped through her body like fire.

"Within. The danger's from within!" it roared.

Tomoyo's eyes snapped open.

"What the hell?"

The darkness held no answers.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Another chapter and more mysteries continue to pile up… ahhh… don't you love it? Chapter ten is only three chapters away!

Next chapter:

It's time to hit the canals of Venice as the Angels try to retrieve another disk however an old enemy emerges with some new and dangerous friends as the girls are caught in a deadly trap. Watch as the Angels meet their match in battle as they fight for survival… find out what happens next in _Viva la Venice_.

A/Notes: sorry about the delays but school's just really tough of late but anyway you're not here for that you're here for details about chapter 10.

Many of you have guessed right it is to do with the prophecy that was unveiled in the epilogue for Syaoran's Angels but what does it actually mean? The chapters right now may seemed a bit cut-up, that is not a lot of connection between them but trust me when I say this is all part of a brilliant set-up that will make sense very soon.


	9. Viva La Venice

SHOCK! GASP! HORROR! The skies must have fallen down! I have an update! And a double update at that! I'm so sorry about the delays but final year at high school just got way too busy! I'M SO SO SORRY! 

Disclaimer: sighs, still don't own anything.

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 8: Viva la Venice**

"Fluffy?!? You had a dog named Fluffy?!?"

Meiling glared at her friend.

"I didn't name him!" she protested, "My sister did!"

"Still…" Sakura trailed off, her mind trying to wrap around the new piece information Meiling had given her, "Fluffy?!? Jeez, why didn't you just shoot the poor thing?"

"Hey!"

"BAM!"

A heavy fist clubbed into Meiling's face knocking her down to the ground. With a cry of rage, she sprung up again smashing into her attacker with left-right combination punch. Grabbing him by the collar, she swung him around and threw him into the hard concrete wall. He slumped to the ground, out cold.

"This isn't really the time for this," Meiling snapped.

"Oh, you mean because we're in the middle of a dangerous mission trying to infiltrate enemy territory and steal a disk?" Sakura asked blithely, "Yeah, you're right this isn't the time."

Tomoyo appeared in her line of vision, lashing out at a guard. The punch cracked into his face forcing his head painfully back before a lethal high-kick slammed into his face knocking him out.

"Hurry!" the Japanese Angel called, "This way!"

Embroiled in her own private battle, Sakura could only nod. With a fierce cry, she landed a crunching blow, knocking out her opponent in one hit.

"Let's go," Sakura nodded, stepping casually over her defeated foe.

The three Angels pressed on amidst a chaos of flashing red sirens and shrieking alarms. More guards poured into the area, further slowing their progress.

Landing a hefty karate chop on one guard's neck, Meiling punched him again before hurling his prone body into the cluster of guards streaming into the room via the side doors that lined the walls.

"Tomoyo! Sakura!" she yelled desperately, fending off more sentries, "Plan! Now! There's too many of them!"

Clipped by a vicious haymaker, Sakura had to agree. Tomoyo lashed out with a vicious left hook knocking her opponent away before looking around. Her eyes lit up as she spotted something promising.

"There!" she cried, pointing at something on the wall.

Sakura and Meiling took time out of their own battles to see what Tomoyo had spotted. Wrapped around winch, a long length of iron chain extended up to the roof suspending what appeared to be some kind of complex heavy machinery, other lengths of long chain held up the other three ends stretching back to separate winches set deep into the walls.

"Go!" Meiling cried, "Get it loose!"

Tomoyo nodded grimly as she easily punched a man into submission, flipping over another she landed delicately in front of the first winch and lashed out with her foot. The winch immediately sprung into the action, the handle flying around wildly as the chain flew from the pulley. One corner of the machine sagged dangerously as the chain flew free from its mooring.

On the other side of the room, Sakura fought her way to another winch, one directly opposite from Tomoyo's. Grown men sailed through the air as the American Angel unleashed a deadly barrage of punches and kicks. With a cry, she leapt into a flying jump hitting the winch head-on and freeing the chain.

With an ominous creak, one whole side of the machine, bereft of support swung down to the ground. But its other side was still bound to their winches resulting in a deadly pendulum-like swing.

The three Angels leapt onto the swinging machine as it barrelled through the air smashing into the guards. They rode the machine as it sailed towards their destination, a heavy metal door set in the far side of the room. As it near their goal, the three Angles leapt off ducking as the machine slammed into the hard concrete wall, shattering on impact.

Amidst a cascade of tumbling glass and twisted metal, the Angels raced towards their destination: a heavy metal door set in one side of the room. A swift kick popped the door open before the three Angels hurried in, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Okay," Sakura let out a low sight of relief, "We're in."

"Good," Tomoyo said distractedly as her eyes scanned their surroundings.

Lights blinked rapidly in the darkness, shredding the shadows with neon colours. The whirring and grinding of moving parts resounded through the room as the three Angels padded towards the far wall. Tomoyo reached into the small streamline backpack strapped between her shoulders blades, pulling out a pair of green-tinged sunglass before pulling them on.

"Can you see it?" Meiling asked softly, her voice barely audible above the sound of the machinery.

Tomoyo gently touched the left side of her glasses with her thumb, gently pressing down onto the small soft pad located there. Glowing orange numbers and diagrams flashed past the green lenses as the small computer hidden inside the glasses read her thumbprint. It gave a small beep in confirmation before starting its task.

"Okay, remind me again… what does that do?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"The glasses contains a small micro-computer," Tomoyo explained patiently, "There're are invisible sensors hidden around the lenses, when I look at something the sensors automatically search for any sign of electric signals like computers transmitting data or something like that. If there are signals, the computer displays them on the lenses where I can see them. It can also be used to disrupt transmission of data as well."

Tomoyo began glancing around at the machinery searching for the main control computer as the door began trembling violently, the guards outside obviously trying to break in. Meiling and Sakura exchanged weary glances before taking up guard on either side of the door.

"Got it!" Tomoyo announced suddenly as her glasses gave off a loud beep.

She immediately ran towards one of the walls. Her hands shot out, latching onto a metal tile embedded into the concrete. With a small tug, the tile popped free revealing a computer built into the wall.

"Hurry," Sakura called out hurriedly as the metal door began shaking more violently than ever.

Tomoyo quickly gained access into the computer and began searching through the files for what she was looking for. Suddenly her eyes widened and she froze.

"What?" her eyes scanned the words in front of her.

There was no mistaking them.

"Damn it!" she yelled smacking her hand against the wall in frustration, "It's not here!"

"What?!?"

"The disk! It's not here! It's been moved."

"To where?" Meiling demanded.

"Venice."

The three Angels stared at each other in shock but before any of them could say a word, the door shuddered as something heavy slammed into it.

"We need to get out of here," Sakura muttered, her emerald eyes scanning the room, "There! The ventilation duct!"

The three Angels hurried towards the duct as the metal door began buckling under the attack from outside but when the guards finally broke through the door, they found an empty room.

The Angels were long gone.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A long dramatic sigh broke the silence.

"Why do I do this again?" Touya moaned, rubbing his eyes wearily before throwing himself down onto a nearby chair.

"Because you failed high school and couldn't get into college?" Nakuru suggested helpfully.

"Insert laughter," Touya muttered glaring at her.

Nakuru rolled her eyes before let out a long sigh of her own.

"This is one giant mess," the CIA agent complained," These reports are about as logical as a Japanese game show."

Touya stared at her, Nakuru shrugged.

"I watch Iron Chef repeats," she said in the way of an explanation, "But still, Aikio gets beaten into submission and days later, a Paris nightclub connected to him gets burned down as well? And not to mention the French police report on that attack on a supposed Cobra Mark headquarter… and you know what line connects these dots?"

"The three mysterious women?"

"Yeah, personally I like a little less mystery and a little more answers," Nakuru allowed her head to loll backwards as she let out another sustained groan of frustration, "Man! Can these girls wear name-tags or leave behind their contact numbers or something?"

"Coffee?" a familiar voice asked.

Both agents perked up as Yukito placed steaming cups of coffee in front of both of them. Nakuru immediately snatched hers up and began slurping the hot caffeine-rich beverage inside noisily, Touya doing the same with a little less noise.

"Got anything yet?" Yukito asked casually.

"Why ask questions you already know the answer to?" Nakuru countered.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, nothing."

Touya glanced at the paperwork spread out around them, glumly.

"Everything's too vague," he complained, "These girls… we need better descriptions."

"Okay, let's start from the top," Yukito suggested calmly, "What do we know."

"First, Aikio was attacked into his own dojo by three girls who later called the police to arrest them," Nakuru began, "Several days later, a club in Paris was burned to the ground… this club was connected to Aikio in some yet to be determined way."

"Following that, on the same night there was an attack on a Cobra Mark headquarter," Touya finished off, "And more likely than not these three girls were connected to it."

"Well…" Yukito chewed his lip thoughtfully, "Okay, if the three girls called the police… we know that they don't actually work for any law-enforcing body themselves and also they aren't assassins because they would've just killed him… what about the crime scene?"

"There were traces of blood found in one of the rooms… we did a test and they belong to…" Nakuru glanced at one of her files, "Evan Solomon… a small time crook. He's in hospital. Our previous attempts to talk to him have failed. He refuses to speak and since we can't actually prove he's done anything wrong, we can't interrogate him."

"Okay… the nightclub in Paris?" Yukito prompted.

"A couple of badly burnt bodies. One of them has been identified as Leon Marseil. He was a scientist that was believed to have been kidnapped by a Cobra Mark cell."

"Wait a minute," Nakuru frowned, "We know Aikio's connected to Cobra Mark, that's why we were investigating him in the first place… I'm sensing a theme here. Evan Solomon was probably captured and tortured by Aikio… hence the blood. The girls free Solomon and then they next appear in Paris, to attack a nightclub connected to Aikio where Leon Marseil died… maybe he was being held there!"

Touya's eyes widened as he realised what Nakuru was saying.

"He probably died when the girls were trying to get him out. So in revenge, they probably went after the headquarters that's why there was an attack!"

Touya suddenly deflated.

"But we still don't know who the girls are aside from the fact they seem to be on our side."

"No, we don't know anything but I bet you Evan Solomon does," Yukito smiled calmly, "He's the key. We need to get him to talk."

"Okay," Nakuru stood up, a weird smile on her face, "Let's go talk to him."

"But it's the middle of the night. The hospital will never let you talk to him."

In response, Nakuru gave him a wicked wink.

"I know," she said as she sauntered off.

Touya and Yukito exchanged puzzled glances before running off after her.

They had to keep her from doing anything illegal.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Delicate long fingers gripped the phone in an iron grip, rosy pink eyes gleaming with amusement as thin lips curved into a delighted smile.

"Okay, good job minions," she smirked, "Get to Venice now. Await my arrivals before you proceed. Understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, she hung up the phone. Spinning the leather chair around, Uri Rakuza stretched before standing up.

"Hey, Verona," she called into the shadows behind her, "The fishies have taken the bait… it's time."

She reached forwards and grabbed a large round object from a nearby table. Even as she spoke, her rose-pink eyes were focused on the hard white helmet she held in her hands. The black visor, a stark contrast to the white helmet around it, absorbed all light that touched its smooth surface. Light gleamed from the two katana-style daggers lying on the table.

The White Lady smirked.

"Let's go fishing."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Argh!" Sakura snarled in frustration, "Words cannot describe how annoyed I am so… Argh!"

"Venice, I've always wanted to go there," Meiling mused to herself, "I've seen the pictures and everything… but seeing and being there are two very different things."

Sakura had to agree.

"Yeah, I want to go as well but not exactly in the context of another death-defying mission," she sighed.

"Okay guys," Tomoyo flipped her phone shut as she turned towards her fellow Angels, "I've contacted Syaoran. He's arranging flights for us."

"So, Venice huh?" Meiling muttered.

Tomoyo nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Oooo… gondolas!" Sakura brightened, "And gondoliers. Singing gondoliers!"

Meiling and Tomoyo stared at her.

"What? It's like a boat ride… except you know… romantic and loud Italian singing involved…" Sakura trailed off, "Being stereotypical aren't I?"

"Very stereo," Meiling replied dryly, "Tomoyo? Nearest airport?"

"Follow me."

The three Angels padded through the darkness, mere shadows gliding through the dark veil of twilight.

They soon disappeared deep into the night.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Bright green eyes! Auburn hair!" Evan Solomon was practically screaming by now.

Yukito and Touya nervously stood guard at the door as Evan began crying nosily.

"Okay, how about the second one?" Nakuru asked calmly.

A cold metal barrel twisted into Evan's forehead forcing the answer from his lips. Nakuru's hands gripped the gun tightly, the dangerous look in her eyes silently warning him of the dangers of messing with her.

"Dark hair. Short. Bright ruby eyes!"

"Good," Nakuru allowed a cold smile to curl her lips, "Now, we're up to question three. And trust me when I say, the prize you're playing for is very big. Either you tell me the truth or the nurses here will spend a week cleaning your brains off the wall. The third one. Describe her"

"Long greyish hair… lavender eyes," Evan whimpered.

"Do you know their names?"

Evan shook his head violently.

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

Nakuru pursed her lips as though deep in thought.

"You're lying," she announced suddenly, "Damn, and these walls are just so prettily white."

Evan let out a choked scream as Nakuru pulled the trigger, Yukito and Touya surged towards her trying to stop her but they were too far away.

"Click."

Instead of going off with a thunderous bang, the gun made a faint click. No bullet came tearing out of the muzzle, no bullet slammed into Evan's brain. Nakuru suppressed a snigger as Evan collapsed from shock, his face pale, his eyes rolled back into his head. Calmly she holstered her gun again and turned to her fellow CIA agents. Touya and Yukito gaped at her, stunned by what she had just done. Touya was the first to recover.

"What?!?" his voice broke and became surprisingly high-pitched, "How could you do that?!?"

"Relax," Nakuru drawled, "I didn't kill him."

Before they could protest, Nakuru brushed past them and swept out of the room. Touya finally turned to Yukito.

"I don't think there's any other girls on this planet more crazy than her," he sighed, "Absolutely no-one."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Venice! Venice! Venice! Ooo… gondolas!"

Meiling and Tomoyo exchanged wry grins as well as they tried to sidle away from their friend, trying to inform onlookers with their body language that they had no idea who this crazy screaming loon was.

"Tomoyo! Meiling! Look!"

Meiling winced as Sakura's fingers dug deep into her arm.

"Okay, Sakura relax," she hissed, wrenching her arm away, "Let's not draw attention to yourselves okay?!?"

Sakura took a deep calming breath, but the brilliant smile still remained across her face.

"Okay, calm now… still excited but more calm than excited," Sakura looked around, eyes wide with wonder, "This is more beautiful than anything I could've imagined!"

"Sakura, we're not here on vacation," Tomoyo reminded her, "Remember? Retrieve disk, save world? That's our mission."

"All work and no play makes Tomoyo a hormonal Angel," Sakura shot back.

Tomoyo bristled but Meiling cut in before a fight could erupt.

"Okay! Mission first, sightsee later? Agreed?" she shot meaningful looks to both parties, "Agreed?"

"Sure," Sakura smiled breezily.

"Fine," Tomoyo huffed.

"Okay then," Meiling turned to Tomoyo, "Where is the disk?"

"Here, follow me," Tomoyo walked calmly up to the water's edge and gestured towards a passing gondolier.

The Italian man shot her a bright smile before poling over to them, the small boat gliding elegantly through the water towards them. Sakura let out a low squeal of delight as the three Angels stepped onto the small craft. The gondolier's brilliant grin widened as he asked them a question in Italian.

"What?" Tomoyo glanced at Sakura, their multi-lingual expert.

"Where do you want to go?" Sakura translated promptly.

Tomoyo quickly gave her an address, which Sakura translated back to the gondolier. The man nodded before digging his pole deep in the water and pushing them away from the street edge, Sakura's eyes lit up as she took in her beautiful surroundings.

Quaint and artistic house facades stared down at the crystal blue water below, the blocks of buildings grid lined and criss-crossed by a labyrinth of canals, each shimmering with water the colour of liquid emeralds and sapphires. The concrete banks bordering the canals were green-furred with moss and lined with cafes offering brilliant views of the water's edge. A bridge arched past overhead, throwing them into a second of shadow before they were once more plunged into the brilliant Venetian sunlight. On and on they boated through the canals, the sound of trickling water and happy laughter resounding through the crisp air. All too soon, the trip was over.

Handing a handful of euros to their gondolier, the three Angels stepped off and watched as it sailed away again, the bright red hull slicing through the sparling waters. Slowly they turned around and faced the building in front of them.

"Apparently this is where the disk was sold to," Tomoyo explained, "It may have been moved to someplace else… if that's the case just pray whoever bought it left some kind of clue behind."

"Okay, let's do this!" Sakura announced, a devilish smile on her face.

Meiling immediately walked up to the door and tried to open it. Naturally it was locked.

"Wait, here let me pick the loc…"

"BAM!"

A well-aimed kick shattered the lock and threw the door backwards.

"Or alternately we could use brute force…" Tomoyo said weakly as Meiling flashed them a wicked grin.

"I could've just picked that lock!" Sakura snapped.

Meiling shrugged.

"You do it your way, I'll do it my way," she replied casually, "Anyway, it's open isn't it? Mission accomplished. Cheers? Claps? Applause?"

"Whoo hoo," Tomoyo muttered dryly as she walked through the doorway.

As soon as they stepped through the door, the jokes and teasing were gone. Their eyes became wary as they scanned their surroundings, tension tightening their limbs, every muscle in their body ready to spring into action at the slightest hint of danger.

The foyer of the building was dark and musty and utterly bare, Tomoyo spotted a second door half-hidden in the shadows and immediately walked over towards it.

"Guys," she called, "Through her…"

Her eyes widened as a small gasp tore itself free from her throat. For a few swift seconds her lavender eyes darkened to pure darkness, even blackening out the whites of her eyes but with her back faced towards her fellow Angels, neither Sakura nor Meiling saw the transformation. Tomoyo stood still, frozen in time, mesmerised as though in a trance as a small guttural voice emerged from the depths of her mind to screech in her ears.

'_Down!' _the terrible voice shrieked, '_Get down!'_

"Tomoyo?" Sakura's voice ripped into her ears like a cannon blast, shattering her trance.

"DOWN!" she screamed, "GET DOWN!"

"BOOM!"

The door blew open as a fireball ripped through the air. Tomoyo hit the ground as a tongue of flame gushed past overhead, Sakura and Meiling also narrowly avoiding the blast.

"What the…"

A second explosion tore through the walls. The three Angels leapt up and raced towards the exit as the building began rumbling dangerously, flames tearing through the air in a chaotic dance tearing everything it touched to fiery ashes. Super-heated air slapped Tomoyo's face as she raced through the destruction, her goal the small rectangle of blue sky showing through the open doorway. For what felt like eternity, she kept on running, her mind focused blindly on that one goal but every step she took seemed to be useless as fire and smoke continued filled her vision. It was like she was running on a treadmill, forever moving her legs but forever stuck in the same place but finally the heat abated. Soothing coolness splashed against her face as she looked around wildly.

She was out.

Sakura and Meiling were staring at the building in shock watching it in horror as flames devoured its façade.

"What the hell?" Meiling whispered, stunned.

"The building must've been rigged to explode," Tomoyo muttered as she too turned around and viewed the destruction, "Damn it!"

"Hey, now. No need for that kind of language. Little kiddies are around."

The three Angels whirled around. Standing on a gondola behind them, stood a tall pale-skinned woman, her rose-pink eyes gleaming with malicious amusement. Her pale blue short hair flapped in the breeze as she crossed her arms, folding them across her chest.

"Howdy Angels," she smirked.

"Who the hell are you?" Meiling spat.

The woman laughed.

"We've met before… in Paris."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"The White Lady!"

"Or as I preferred to be called Uri Rakuza," the woman's grin widened, "Or alternately she-who-is-going-to-kick-your-ass."

"I seemed to remember kicking your ass in Paris," Sakura shot back, "So eager for round two bitch?"

"Bitch?" Uri's eyes narrowed, "I'm shocked and hurt. Fine, if you're going to be rude, we won't talk…"

Two katana-style daggers appeared in her hands.

"We'll fight."

She lunged at them, flying across the water. The Angels leapt away in different directions as Uri hit the ground, whipping her daggers around in two flashing slashes. Sakura ducked a swipe before trying to nail the woman with an uppercut but Uri was way too fast, easily evading the blow. Meiling tried to lunge at her from the side, but a swift snap kick swatted her away. Tomoyo blocked Uri's arm, effectively stopping her dagger swipe before landing a vicious punch to her face, knocking her backwards towards the water's edge.

With the building still burning at their back, the three Angels re-grouped, shifting into battle stances. Uri smirked at them, gently rubbing her jaw.

"Three against one?" she pouted, "Let's even the odds."

The canal water behind her churned as three heads popped up from the water, scuba masks greeted the Angels as the divers revealed their weapons.  
"Shi…" Sakura began, eyes widening in horror.

The assault rifles went off noisily, unleashing a blizzard of bullets. The three Angels leapt away as the bullet tore into the concrete.

"RUN!" Meiling yelled as Uri laughed at them.

The three divers aimed at one Angel each, forcing the three of them separate. Meiling greeted their teeth knowing that this was their plan: to force them to split up. This was the last thing she wanted but she had no other choice. It was either run away or be mowed down by gunfire. Throwing a desperate look behind her, Meiling ducked into a side alley, her fellow Angels disappearing down different streets.

She ran and ran and ran until the sound of gunfire died down. Now the only thing she could hear was Uri Rakuza's malicious laughter.

The White Lady had them exactly where she wanted them: divided.

She was now in control.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura slowed down into a jog. She glanced around at her surroundings: she was in a shadowy alley, the only light being the eerie bands of shimmering sunlight refracted from the canal's rippling waters. Silence greeted her as Sakura came to a stop. Slowly with a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realised she was alone.

"Oh man, this can't be goo…"  
"BAM!"

Sakura's head snapped to the side as a heavy fist crashed into her face. She flew through the air, clearing the small canal before slamming into a heavy brick wall on the other side of the channel. With a small groan, she slid to the ground.

"Ow," she staggered to her feet steadily before looking up at the person who had attacked her.

At first all she could see was a grey coloured shirt until her eyes roved upwards. She gulped as she realised her opponent was a head and shoulder taller than her. The mysterious woman's arms and legs bulged obscenely with rock-hard muscles, barely contained by a meagre outfit of cotton shirt and shorts, both non-descript and grey. Long blonde hair was bound into a thick plait that trailed down to her waist, which was wrapped in a thick leather belt but strangest of all was her face: it was completely covered by a white ivory mask adorned with heavy gold gilt around the narrow eye slits, there was several long slender openings near the nose and mouth obviously for breathing purposes but the rest of her face was concealed, an eerie façade that unnerved Sakura greatly.

The woman moved as Sakura tensed but rather than attack the woman threw something towards her. Instinctively Sakura caught it. It was a small rock with a note wrapped around it, watching the woman carefully just in case this was a ploy of some sort; Sakura freed the note and glanced down at it.

'_Hey Angel!' _the note began cheerfully, '_this nice woman's name is Verona Slazukov. Chances are she'll beat you to death but feel free to fight… even though it won't do you much good. Have fun! P.S. remember to scream when you die!'_

The note was signed by Uri Rakuza, with a smiley face next to her name. Sakura gritted her teeth in fury before throwing the note away.

"Okay, Verona," she called to the masked woman, realising that the name was probably Russian in origin "Let's fight!"

She leapt across the canal in a flying kick. Her blow landed squarely but it was like striking a brick wall, her attack bounced away harmlessly as Verona grabbed her outstretched leg and threw her into the wall. Sakura let out a cry of pain as she was slammed forcefully into the rough brick, her head slamming into the hard surface painfully. She hit the ground painfully but staggered to her feet only to receive another blow, a painful kick that smashed into her chest, driving the air from her lungs. As she stood, gasping for breath, Verona backhanded her viciously. Her vision blurred as she spun around with the force of the blow, Verona following up with a stranglehold on her neck.

Sakura gasped for breath as Verona tightened her grip, cutting off her air. She lifted the hapless Angel into the air, fingers digging into her tender flesh as Sakura struggled to hold onto consciousness. In a last ditch attempt to survive, Sakura lashed out desperately, a lucky blow slamming into Verona's neck. Staggering backwards, the masked woman immediately dropped her to the ground. Sakura tried to crawl away, her throat roaring with pain. Her eyes widened with horror as she felt Verona's iron grip tighten around her ankle, she lashed out with her other foot, smashing into Verona's masked face but the Russian woman was unrelenting. With a flick of her wrist, she sent Sakura flying over her shoulder, the American Angel slammed down onto the ground, a low whimper of pain escaping from her lips.

"Uh…" she tried to climb to her feet but her legs failed, sending her crashing back down to the ground.

The sound of pounding footsteps told Sakura Verona had recovered and was charging towards her, desperately Sakura lashed out catching Verona's leg in a scissor kick. With a powerful jerk, Sakura sent Verona sprawling sideways straight into the canal. The Russian woman plunged deep into the placid water with a massive splash. Sakura immediately crawled to her feet and began limping away as fast as she could, gasping in pain as her wounds sent shocks of pain coursing through her body.

Even as she began to flee, she could hear the horrifying sound of water dripping onto hard stone.

Verona was after her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo immediately whipped her mobile and punched in a series of numbers even as she continued to run through the Venetian alley.

'_Hello?' _Syaoran's voice filled her ears as Tomoyo let out a sigh of relief.

"Syaoran! Venice's a trap!" Tomoyo explained desperately, "The White Lady from Paris set a trap for us, we've been split up! We need to get out of here… now. Can you set up an extradition point?"

'_What? Are the others okay?'_

"I don't know!" Tomoyo turned a corner, "We've been split up!"

'_Okay. I'm sending a helicopter over. Meet at this address…' _Syaoran quickly gave her a series of numbers and street names, '_It'll be there in about twenty minutes. Get the others and get them now as soon as possible. Understood?'_

"Yeah, thanks."

'_No worries, just be careful!'_

Tomoyo quickly disconnected the call before flipping her phone shut and sliding it back into her pocket as she glanced around.

"Okay, got to find the others," she sighed, "Easier said then done."

Choosing a random side street, she raced down the narrow sidewalk, which ran parallel to a small canal hoping that this would lead her to her friends. Suddenly she froze, a peculiar sound reaching her ears.

"The hell?"

The sound increased as Tomoyo threw a cautious look behind her shoulders, her eyes widened in shock as she saw what was coming. A jet ski tore down the channel, its rider raising a rifle at her. She sprinted down the street as he fired, bullet tearing into the ground after her. She ducked into another side street as the jet-ski blew past missing the turn. Knowing it would soon come after her, Tomoyo ducked into another series of side streets trying to shake the jet-ski off.

She came to a screeching halt as another jet-ski, a different one this time, cruised down a canal in front of her. Hurriedly she leapt back into the shadows as it drifted past.

"Damn it," Tomoyo hissed, realising that there were probably endless patrols of these machines everywhere.

For a few seconds, she stood there in the shadows mulling over this new development until an idea came into her head. She glanced around and her eyes lit up as she spotted a pile of bricks stacked neatly beside a wall. Racing over to it, she hefted one up, thoughtfully weighing it in her hands. Satisfied that it would do, Tomoyo took off racing towards the jet-ski she had seen before. It was several metres in front of her, moving down the narrow waterway at a leisurely speed. Treading lightly on the balls of her heels, Tomoyo sprinted silently towards the jet-ski, with a small cry she flung the brick forwards.

It smashed into the rider's head, knocking him out in one blow. He slumped off the machine and into the canal as Tomoyo beamed with satisfaction. She quickly sprinted up to the jet-ski and hopped onto the machine. Blowing a kiss to the knocked out lackey floating in the water, she gunned the engine and took off.

Now to find her friends.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling threw herself to the side as two daggers sliced the air where she had been standing. Uri pouted as Meiling rolled to her feet.

"Missed," she spat.

Uri shrugged.

"Oh well," she smirked, "More fun this way."

Meiling threw a left hook at her but the White Lady easily dodged the blow before jabbing at the Asian Angel with her left dagger. Meiling back-pedalled out of reach before launching into a forward flip, smashing Uri in the face with her boot knocking the Cobra Mark assassin backwards. Uri let out a snarl of fury before righting herself.

She leapt forwards, spinning around in mid-air before smacking Meiling in the face with a vicious right hook. A roundhouse kick slammed into her chest knocking the Asian Angel backwards.

"Come on," Uri taunted, "Is that all you've got? I'm feeling bored over here!"

Meiling glared at the woman before flipping back up onto her feet and throwing a spinning kick at her, Uri ducked easily evading the blow but Meiling completed the rotation with a powerful kick that smacked into Uri's chest sending her sprawling backwards. Meiling leapt at her, not giving the White Lady any chance to recover as she slammed down onto the woman with a two-fist club. Uri hit the ground again but before Meiling could press the advantage, the blue-haired woman leg swept Meiling knocking her feet out from under her and sending the Asian Angel sprawling to the ground.

Both of them simultaneously leapt to their feet and began trading blows. Uri slashed down at her with both of her daggers, each aimed straight at her head, with a cry Meiling grabbed her wrists halting the attack before head-butting Uri, the White Lady staggered away clutching her head in pain as Meiling deftly yanked the daggers from her grip. Without hesitation, she hurled both daggers at Uri but the White Lady ducked, the daggers shrieking past overhead before slamming into a brick wall, metal cutting deeply into stone. They stuck fast into the wall, shaking violently from the impact of the throw.

Meiling surged forwards ready to attack Uri once more but a heavy object slammed into the back of her head, knocking her to the ground. She hit the paved concrete with a pained groan as a second object slammed into her back. Gasping in pain, she tried to fend off the attacks, struggling to see what had hit her. A low whispered curse left her lips as she caught glimpses of three men clad in black clothing, towering over her, each one wielding a long wooden staff using the weapon to beat her into submission. With a cry of fury, Meiling spun her legs around knocking the men away before flipping onto her feet.

"Uh oh, four against one," Uri mocked, "Whatever will our beloved heroine do now?"

Meiling ignored her as she moved into a battle stance, the three men circling her in a tight ring, their wooden staves mere blurs as they spun it around in their hands. One man darted forwards striking at her ankles as another whipped it around at head-height, Meiling threw herself into a roll, leaping over the first staff and ducking under the other. She lashed out, breaking herself from the tumble striking one man in the chest with both feet. She whipped her head to the side as another stave cracked the ground, missing her by a mere millimetre. She flipped back onto her feet before throwing a sucker-punch that smacked into one of the men's jaw, flooring him with one blow.

Another man tried to sneak up behind her, swinging his stave at her at neck height but Meiling whirled around grabbing onto the staff and thrusting it at him, the butt of the pole springing free from his grip and slamming into his throat. He fell away with a choked scream as Meiling whipped the stave around, cracking the final man across the face. Without stopping, she whipped the staff around again and dug the end of it into the ground as she used it to vault over the staggering man.

Uri could only blink in surprise as Meiling landed in front of her and punched her across the face. She whirled around with the force of the blow as Meiling brought the staff up and around. Holding it as though she was playing a game of pool, Meiling sent the end flying straight at Uri's head.

The woman fell to the ground without a sound.

Towering over Uri's prone body, Meiling allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction before running off.

She had to find the others.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura hit the wall with deadly force and bounced off, sliding to the ground. Verona appeared in her line of blurry vision, swinging her fist around as the American Angel threw herself to the side. The Russian woman's fist cracked into the hard brick. If she felt any pain at all, Verona didn't show it as she merely brought the fist back round again punching Sakura in the gut. A low whimper of pain escaped Sakura's lips but before she could defend herself, Verona grabbed her around the arm and hurled her straight across the alleyway, over the canal that bisected the street and into the far wall.

The American Angel struggled to stand up as Verona leapt over the canal pounding Sakura with a flying kick. The Angel staggered, the Russian woman moving in for the kill. A right hook disorientated the Angel before an elbow slammed down onto her back. Sakura's legs buckled and she fell, hitting the ground painfully. Verona stared coldly down at her through the ivory mask before raising her right foot, preparing to end the fight with a stomp on the Angel's head. Sakura could only whimper in pain as she tried to crawl away.

"CRACK!"

Verona stumbled as something smashed into the back of her head.

"Hey, back off Bitch in the Iron Mask," Meiling snapped as she whipped the stave in her hands around, "Nobody messes with me and mine."

Verona merely turned around calmly, sunlight glinting off the gold gilt on her white mask and her long golden hair. Meiling raised the stave in an aggressive position as she waited for the woman's first move. Verona surged forwards batting the staff away before Meiling could react, a powerful punch snapped the Asian Angel's head backwards as Meiling rolled with the blow trying to soften the impact. The fall when it finally came still forced the air from her lungs.

"Oh man," she muttered, crawling to her feet as Verona advanced on her.

Verona unleashed a haymaker but Meiling's arm shot up blocking the blow. The Asian Angel let out a soundless scream of pain as the fist slammed into her arm, the force of the blow sending blasts of pain roaring through her veins. Her arms went numb and useless as Meiling tried to back away from the towering Russian woman.

Suddenly the woman toppled to her knees, Meiling blinked in surprise at first then realised Sakura had attacked her from behind, smashing the woman's knee-caps with a powerful kick. Sakura pressed the advantage trying to put a chokehold on the Russian woman but Verona simply grabbed the Angel's arms and hurled her straight over her head. Meiling let out a gasp of surprise as Sakura slammed into the ground in front of her.

"You alright?" she demanded helping her friend to her feet.

Sakura stared at her with blackened eyes; her face bruised and battered.

"I'll live," she rasped.

Without a word exchanged between them, the two Angels attacked in unison. Verona flailed under the co-ordinated attack as Sakura and Meiling unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches that hammered the woman's body. But the Russian woman quickly recovered, shrugging off the attack as though it was nothing, she punched Sakura out of the air before lashing out at Meiling, grabbing the Angel's neck and slamming her down into the concrete ground. A swift kick smashed into Meiling's ribs sending the Angel rolling across the alleyway.

"Ow," Meiling winced slowly crawling to her feet, "What is she eating? Spinach? I want some of what she's having!"

"It's like fighting a brick wall," Sakura muttered, "Her punches hurt like hell and her kicks hurt a hell of a lot more. We can't fight her like this! We need to get away!"

"Yeah. Great. How?"

Sakura shrugged helplessly as Verona stalked towards them. The Angels lashed out with twin spin kicks, both of their attacks smashing into her chest. Verona stumbled back several steps but soon righted herself.

"Man, she's like the Terminator or something except she talks even less!" Meiling growled, "We make a break for it, okay?"

"Okay," Sakura murmured back.

"One…"

Verona took a dangerous step towards them.

"Two…"

The Angels tensed ready to flee.

"THREE!"

"VROOOOOM!"

The roar of a running motor resounded through the air as the Angels and Verona looked around in confusion. The canal water began to churn violently as something shot towards them.

"Guys!"

"Tomoyo?!?"

Sakura and Meiling stared in shock as their friend raced towards them astride a jet-ski, the slick machine slicing through the tumultuous water spraying white-specked foam everywhere.

"GET ON!" Tomoyo shouted at them.

Sakura and Meiling threw themselves at the jet-ski as it blew past. Verona lunged at them but Meiling lashed out with her feet, knocking the Russian woman back as Tomoyo gunned the engine. She turned sharply, the jet-ski forcing a large wave of water to gush up from the canal as they raced down another side-street.

"Who was that?" Tomoyo demanded over the roar of the motor.

"Verona Slazukov," Sakura muttered weakly, struggling to cling onto consciousness, "Works for Cobra Mark I'm guessing… one of Uri Rakuza's friends. She's ver…"

Before Sakura could say another word, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped backwards, out cold.

"Crap," Meiling muttered, cradling her friend's prone body as she struggled to keep both of them balanced on the jet-ski, "Tomoyo? What's the plan?"

"I've contacted Syaoran. He's set up an extradition point," Tomoyo explained, "We're heading there now."

Tomoyo zipped through another canal before bringing the jet-ski to a halt. She hopped off before helping Meiling get Sakura off the machine. Carrying their prone friend between them, the Angels walked away from the water's edge, Tomoyo explaining to Meiling where Syaoran had said to go.

They walked into a dim cool foyer of an ancient building and began climbing the numerous rickety stairs up until they came to the rooftop as soon as they stepped out onto the sunnily lit top, the deafening sound of roaring motor boomed through the air. A shadow fell over them as they looked up. A black helicopter hung in the air, rotor spinning around fiercely as a rope ladder fell from the cabin.

Snagging the first rung of the ladder with her left arm still tightly wound around Sakura's prone body, Meiling waited until Tomoyo was on before tugging the rope gently. The ladder immediately began to retract up towards the cabin as the helicopter peeled away from the building.

They glided over Venice's breath-taking scenery as Meiling stared down at the city of water and beauty.

And inside she was desperately hoping they would never run into Verona Slazukov or Uri Rakuza again.

But Meiling had the sinking feeling that someday they would.

But she'd be ready.

The streaks of brilliant sapphire slicing across the Venetian landscape dimmed with distance as they finally reached the cabin and crawled in. Meiling's eyes were burning with determination.

And next time Verona was going down.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Next chapter: 

A mission to Ireland goes horribly wrong as the Angels find themselves in deep, deep danger. The build up to the climatic events of Chapter 10 continue as life goes on for all those circle the Angels. Find out what happens in the explosive… _Firebomb _


	10. Firebomb

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah don't own nothing

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 9: Firebomb**

It was morning but the room was dark. Outside the pale pink sun promised a day of beautiful weather, a day of promise, hope and endless opportunities but all this was blocked out by tightly drawn blinds, heavy fabric plunging the room into shadows and sadness.

Tomoyo lay in her bed; eyes wide open staring unseeingly at her bedroom ceiling. Her mind leagues away from her physical surroundings.

_'I'll give my all… to have just one more night with you. I'll risk my life, to feel your body next to mine…'_

She blinked slowly even as the song playing on her stereo continued to fill the room with soft, poignant singing.

_'Cos' I can't go on living in the memory of our love…'_

Lost in memories, she laid there, sorrow filling her heart and one name dominating her thoughts.

_'… and I'll give my all to have your love…'_

Eriol.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A burst of heavy metal boomed from the radio tearing through the air as Meiling frowned in concentration.

"BAM!"

A left hook flashed through the air.

"BAM!"

A right hook slammed into her opponent.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"  
Kicks and punches sent her foe flailing as Meiling pressed the attack, her limbs blurs of movement as she continued to unleash her attack on her hapless enemy.

Drums and screeching guitars resounded through the air as Meiling threw one final punch. The punching bag dangling in front of her jerked with the force of the blow before swinging back into place.

Meiling wiped the sweat from her forehead, allowing herself a small rest, before gritting her teeth and raising her hands again.

She had to be strong.

Faster.

More powerful.

She had to train harder.

The fight with Verona in Venice had taught Meiling a horrifying truth: she was weak.

And the only way to remedy that was to keep on training.

Ignoring the bloody blisters on her knuckles, Meiling threw another punch. The punching bag swung backwards as the heavy metal continued to shriek through the air around her.

Closing her ears and mind to everywhere except her foe Meiling kept on punching.

She had to.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura stared at him, ignoring the restaurant around her.

"Well, that's the million dollar question," she sighed, wincing slightly as a small cut on her arm throbbed with pain, "Let's see… Tomoyo. Well, still obviously hurting over Eriol. So when she's not Miss Compulsive-Obsessive at work, she's becoming Miss Anti-Social at home, locking herself up in her room with her Mariah Carey's saddest hits collection and moping."

Sakura sighed before taking a sip of her water.

"And Meiling… ever since Venice, she's developed a crazy obsession too: training. And I don't mean her usual beyond-Olympic-athlete-standard training; I'm talking 24-7-no-rest-nothing-else-strict-diet regime. Marcus called me because he's worried about her. And the thing is I don't understand why Meiling took the fight with Verona so personally, I mean I was the one who got beaten up like a Chess Club member at high school…" Sakura shrugged, "She's just gone a bit crazy… any ideas why?"

Xiaolang pursed his lips.

"Meiling's always prided herself on her fighting skills. Being defeated so decisively like that shakes her to her core… in her eyes if she can't fight then she's nothing…"

"But that's crazy!"

Xiaolang shrugged.

"I know but Meiling doesn't see it that way."

Sakura let out a sad sigh.

"So, yeah. That's the gist of it. Tomoyo's gone slit-my-wrist depressed and Meiling's training herself to death and I don't know how to help them," Sakura rubbed her temples, "It's like I'm the only sane one around anymore."

Xiaolang gave her a warm smile.

"Let's just hope you don't disappear or something."

Sakura snorted.

"As if."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo glanced at the clock. Four neon green numbers told her it was almost midnight but Tomoyo turned back to the humming computer screen sitting in front of her, her vision blurry with weariness but still she pressed on, typing away frantically at her keyboard. Empty cups, blackened by coffee stains, crowded the desk, competing with scribbled notes and crumpled up bits of paper for dominance of the tabletop.

Letting out a long sigh of frustration, Tomoyo ran her hands through her messy long grey hair before looking through her notes, biting her lip as she tried to figure out what to do next.

"Okay…" she began muttering to herself, "Let's see. The disk was originally bought by someone in Florence… but it was sold again to a secondary buyer. The money was wired from a surprise, surprise Swiss Bank account opened up under a fake name…"

She turned back to the computer and scanned the file opened up on the screen.

"Hmm… regular deposits made into that account seems to be coming from Dublin," Tomoyo noted, "From a construction company…"

She quickly found a name.

"Shoreland Constructions," she noted down the address before allowing a small smile of satisfaction to flash across her lips, "Well… never been to Ireland before… this should be interesting."

With that she got up and headed over to her phone, ready to call Syaoran. And then she was going to be pack her bags.

The Angels were going to Ireland.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura let out a small groan as she thrust her arms out, slapping away uselessly at the air and table. Finally her fingers closed around her ringing telephone. Dragging it to her ear, Sakura sat up, hair and bed sheets rumpled.

"Hello?" she muttered wearily, let out a loud yawn.

"_Hey, Cherry Blossom!" _

Her eyes immediately brightened as a brilliant smile curled her lips.

"Dad!" she answered excitedly, "Hey, is every all right?"

'_Better than all right,' _Fujitaka told his daughter_, 'That last archaeological dig was fantastic. We found some really exciting artefacts…and guess what? The Los Angeles museum wants to display them!'_

"That's great!" Sakura brushed some strands of hair away from her eyes as she continued talking into the phone, "Congratulations!"

But there was more to come.

'_The museum also wants me to be there on the opening night of the new exhibit,' _Fujitaka continued happily, _'I'll be in town next week… which means I get to see my favourite daughter in a few days.''_

"I'm your only daughter," Sakura reminded him, smiling softly, "Next week? When?"

_'Wednesday.'_

"You want me to pick you up at the airport? You want to stay at my house?"

_'Sorry, don't need to. The museum is arranging accommodations and everything and they're footing the bill… so what do you say? Visit me? Free room service?'_

"Oooo… room service," Sakura cooed, "How can I resist? Sure dad, just give me your room number and everything… oh! Xiaolang! You've got to meet my boyfriend Xiaolang!"

_'Sweetie. I've met him before…'_

"But that was pre-boyfriend! Don't you want to grill him?"

_'Well…'_

"Good. I'll bring him along as well," Sakura's smile turned into a smirk as she imagined the look on Xiaolang's face when she told him they were meeting with her father, "Okay, see you then!"

'_Take care,' _Fujitaka replied warmly, _'See you in L.A.!'_

She hung up the phone before flopping back onto her bed, a smile still on her face. She glanced at her bedside clock. It was early. Maybe she could still catch a few hours of slee…

"BRIIINNNNGGG!"

She sighed as she picked up her phone once more.

"Hello?"

'Sakura?' 

It was Syaoran.

Sakura let out another low sigh.

Time for work.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The door swung open with a loud creak but Meiling ignored it, her mind still fully focused on the punching bag in front of her. A swift kick followed by a powerful right hook sent it swinging around wildly even as footsteps began to echo down the stairway.

"Meiling," Marcus called gently, "Phone call. For you."

"Yeah," Meiling grunted in reply, her eyes on the punching bag, "Be up in a minute."

Marcus opened his mouth but stopped, not knowing what to say to her. He stood there for a few seconds, staring at his fiancée as she continued to whale on the punching bag. The sound of her punches and kicks resounding through the small basement, barely audible over the heavy metal music pumping out from the small radio set up in one corner.

Meiling threw one last punch before taking a step backwards; sweat pouring down her face, her breathing heavy and laboured.

"Who's it from?" Meiling asked, referring to the phone call.

"Syaoran."

Meiling nodded before walking over to the stairs. She gave Marcus a quick kiss on the lips before bounding up the stairs leaving the man alone in basement. Marcus stared at the punching bag, dried blood making dark rusty brown stains on the bright red surface.

This had to stop.

Taking a deep breath, Marcus walked up the stairs to confront his fiancée.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"You've got to go down there!" Nakuru told him excitedly, her eyes gleaming with mischievous light, "I swear, I never thought…"

She trailed off, a look of rapture appearing across her face as an evil smirk danced across her lips. Touya and Yukito exchanged worried glances as Nakuru finally returned to reality.

"Come on," she grabbed Touya and Yukito's wrists and began dragging them away.

"What's going on?" Touya demanded angrily as Nakuru pushed them into a waiting lift.

The door closed behind them as Nakuru turned to the two CIA agent.

"The agency hired this new hand-to-hand combat expert to help strengthen our fighting skills," the ruby-eyed woman explained, "Anyway… Dan Williams, being the bigoted moron he is, found out that this expert was a woman and began complaining. You know… saying stuff like how a small girl wouldn't be able to teach him anything aside from bedroom skills…"

"He did?" Yukito demanded, shocked and blushing.

Nakuru rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why you're shocked," she muttered before returning to her story, "The expert overhead and understandingly got massively pissed off and challenged him to a fight. Dan accepted, thinking he would win easily and now the expert is mopping the floor with him."

Touya look of surprise morphed into devilish glee as the lift door slid open. Touya and Nakuru immediately jumped out of the lift, Yukito following at a more sedate pace. The three agents hurried down the long stretch of hallway before they reached one of the training rooms. The massive windows looking into the room were lined with almost every agent in the building, each looking on with smug satisfaction or sadistic glee. Touya roughly elbowed his way towards the window, as he neared the pane of glass he caught sight of what had held everyone in captive awe.

A dark haired woman was in the middle of slamming Dan into the ground, a gleeful smile on her face as she pinned the struggling man onto the mats with one hand whilst ruthlessly pounding him with the other. Dan's legs suddenly lashed out with surprising speed, crashing into the woman's knees. She fell away as Dan slowly crawled to his feet but the combat expert quickly recovered unleashing a spinning kick that slammed into Dan's chest sending the CIA agent flying backwards. He crashed into one of the padded walls, the agents watching the one-sided fight instantly bursting into noisily applause as the blonde-haired man slid down to the floor in a crumpled heap. The woman, who had so decisively defeated him, finished off his humiliation by letting out an audible snigger.

"And that's what you get for being a sexist pig!" she taunted before turning away from him in disgust.

Nakuru was the first to approach her.

"That was so cool!" she gushed, eyes wide in awe, "So unbelievably cool!"

The woman shrugged as she brushed her sweat-soaked dark locks away from her forehead.

"Please, a fight like that? Barely a warm up," she rolled her eyes, throwing a venomous look at the still unconscious Dan Williams.

Touya was quickly there as well, his dark eyes studying the combat expert carefully.

"Aren't you afraid you'd get fired?" he asked, "Dan's dad is a big shot around the agency."

The woman snorted.

"Let them fire me," she muttered, "I'm here to train you guys and the agency knows I'm the best so the chances of me getting fired are pretty much non-existent."

"You have got to teach me to fight like that!" Nakuru exclaimed excitedly, "How did you learn to fight like that?"

"Oh, you know… picked up a bit there and a bit there," the woman replied vaguely, "So, what are you're names since I'm going to be seeing you around."

"That's Nakuru," Yukito had joined them as well, "I'm Yukito and this is my partner…"

"Tommy Kinono," Touya cut in smoothly, giving her his alias, "What's your name?"

The woman smiled at him.

"Me? I'm Kiyone Miller."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Good morning Angels."

"Good morning Syaoran," one happy voice and two morose voices greeted him.

Sakura shot her two friends worried glances before switching her focus back to the speaker box perched on the desk in front of them.

"I believe Tomoyo has something to tell us?" Syaoran asked gently.

Tomoyo nodded and stood up.

"Okay, so far we've retrieved six of those damn Cobra Mark disks," Tomoyo reminded them, "Which is good since basically most the schematics for the silent A-bomb have been retrieved but remember that disk we were trying to find in Spain? We originally thought it went to Venice, which as you all know turned out to be a big stinking trap. But now it seems that the disk was sold to a construction company called Shoreland Constructions."

Tomoyo handed a pile of notes to her fellow Angels before continuing.

"It's based in Ireland… Dublin specifically. I have a feeling that the disk is located at their headquarters. As for Venice… well, Uri Rakuza must have planted false information in that server in Florence to lure us there in the first place," Tomoyo sighed remembering that little fiasco, "But I've looked at the server data again and this time I'm sure that Cobra Mark didn't retrieve the disk for themselves. The disk was sold to this construction company, Cobra Mark merely seized upon the opportunity to wipe us out."

"And they almost did," Meiling muttered bitterly, flashes of her one-sided fight with Verona emerging in her mind.

"So," Sakura cut in hurriedly before Meiling got too lost in her dark thoughts, "We're heading to Ireland then?"

"It could be a trap…" Syaoran added thoughtfully but Tomoyo was shaking her head.

"I checked and re-checked and cross-referenced. Unless it's a very elaborate trap complete with a tonne of false paperwork, it's the real thing."

"Don't worry," Sakura reassured their boss, "We'll prepare ourselves just in case it's a trap. If something goes wrong, we'll have an exit strategy ready."

Syaoran sighed.

"Fine," he relented finally but his voice turned stern, "But the moment something goes wrong, you get yourselves out of there. Understood? Even if you don't have the disk."

"Yes, daddy," Sakura muttered, rolling her eyes, "We'll scamper away if something goes wrong."

"I'm serious," Syaoran snapped.

The three Angels stared at each other, wide-eyed. Syaoran rarely got angry and when he did it was usually when one of them did something really reckless during a mission.

"Promise me."

"Fine, if it's a trap we'll get out of there straight away," Tomoyo reassured him, "Right, guys?"

Sakura and Meiling nodded their assent.

"Okay, be really careful. Watch each others back and don't do anything stupid," Syaoran paused, "Goodbye Angels."

"Goodbye Syaoran."

The speaker box went dead as the three Angels turned to each other.

"Okay," Sakura began grimly, "What's the plan?"

And they began scheming.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Marcus let out a low sigh as he stared blankly at the wall, a cup of steaming coffee clutched in his hands but he clearly had no intention of drinking of it at all. His briefcase lay on his desk, unopened, even though he should be correcting something of his students' work. Finally a voice broke through his melancholy.

"Hey, something wrong?" Sarah Harris asked concernedly, his fellow professor peering at him, "Want to talk?"

"You're a woman right?"

Sarah blinked at the blunt question.

"Okay… according to my passport and birth certificate yes," she replied slowly, "Woman trouble, huh?"

Marcus nodded slightly.

"Meiling's acting weird."

"Meiling?" Sarah frowned, "That's your fiancée, right?"

Another nod.

"What happened?" the blonde haired woman was genuinely concerned.

"Something happened at work… an emergency," Marcus said slowly, choosing his words carefully, "She didn't deal with it very well and now she thinks she's useless at her job and has something to prove… she's working herself to death."

"You think she's overreacting?"  
"Kind of," Marcus confessed.

Sarah smirked at him.

"Boy, you don't know women do you? She's not overreacting, she's perfect-reacting in her eyes. Lesson number one, never try to put a man's perspective on a woman's troubles, you're likely to get your head ripped off," Sarah chewed her lip thoughtfully, "The best thing you can do is help her relax and let her work through her own issues. Talk with her, openly and honestly and if that doesn't help make her take a night off. Nothing fancy, rent a movie and get some ice cream."

Marcus stared at her stupidly.

"Ice cream?" he repeated dumbly.

Sarah nodded.

"Chocolate," she said firmly, "Or alternately, triple chocolate."

She gave him a breezy smile before strolling away back to her desk. Marcus stared after her. Slowly he began to pull out a piece of paper and began scribbling down a list.

He had to go shopping.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I'm really, really sorry!" Sakura apologised frantically as she began stuffing clothes into a small backpack, "But I've got to reschedule."

'_Sakura Kinomoto,' _Diana said sternly, _'Are you trying to avoid us?'_

"No!" Sakura protested, "No way, but this mission came up and it has to be done. Sorry, I can't go out to dinner like I promised. But when I get back, I swear I'll go out with you guys."

'_Fine,' _Diana huffed dramatically, _'If your job didn't entail saving the world…'_

"Yeah, phew lucky me," Sakura muttered sarcastically, "So we're cool?"

'_Ice cool,' _Diana promised, _'Alright, watch out okay? Can't have dinner with you if you're blown up to pieces something. Catch you later!'_

"Alright, see ya!" Sakura hung up the phone before throwing it onto her bed.

She quickly walked over to her closet before pulling open a drawer. She scrabbled around inside before finding what she wanted.

Her set of lock-picks gleamed dully in the light as Sakura smiled grimly. Tucking it into her pocket, she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

It was time to leave.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo strolled around her living room, her phone clutched tightly in her hand.

"Yes!" she hissed violently, "I'm sure. Just do what I'm told!"

She whirled around and found herself staring into a large round mirror hanging on one of the walls. Instead of twin lavender eyes staring back at her two pools of pure shadow glared back at their owner, a cruel smile curling her lips. She fussed with her hair a little before turning away from the mirror.

"Shut up," she snarled, tired of listening to the nattering voice on the other line, "You can't trust me and you know it but listen to what I have to say. Listen to me and the rewards would be great. Just be there and be ready for my signal."

She hung up the phone before throwing it in anger at the couch.

"Argh!" she screamed in rage, "Stupid mortals!"

She calmed herself, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes. When they opened again, the darkness had faded to gentle lavender. Tomoyo looked around slowly before noticing her phone was on the floor.

"Huh," she muttered slowly, "How did that get there?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura blinked wearily as the plane began to take off. Her fellow Angels were strapped to their seat on either side of her, Tomoyo reading a book whilst Meiling appeared to be staring up at the plane ceiling, lost in thought.

Stifling a yawn, Sakura laid back into her seat and willed herself to sleep. She would need the rest for what was to come.

Darkness clutched at her consciousness as sleep wrapped around her like a heavy blanket.

She closed her eyes and dreamed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Sakura!"

Sakura jolted awake, light burning her eyes.

"Wha… huh?" she looked around sleepily, "What?"

"We're there," Tomoyo looked at her strangely, "Are you okay?"

Sakura nodded before sitting up slightly. She must've been really tired to have slept for the whole trip. She frowned remembering that she had had a dream but she couldn't remember the exact details.

There had been darkness and a voice murmuring intelligible thing at her. Most of this was a blur except for one word…

"Goldilocks…" Sakura muttered slowly, frowning in confusion.

What did it mean?

"Huh?" Meiling glanced at her but Sakura shrugged.

"Nothing."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Meiling turned away and tried to remember what had happened next in her dream. There had been fire… a blast of flame that had scorched her but there was something else… a person.

Her eyes widened.

Tomoyo!

Tomoyo had appeared in her dream, a cruel smirk curling her lips as she watched her friend burned. Her eyes had been pure black.

Sakura shuddered.

"Weird dream," she muttered before lying back in her chair and dismissing it from her mind.

Now… what movie was that?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline rubbed her blurry eyes letting out a low moan of exhaustion. Clow Reed's journal was lying open in front of her, surrounded by a myriad of age-yellowed books. A lamp was nearby; its brilliant glare directed onto her workspace as Nivaline pored over the journal again, trying to decipher the strange hieroglyphs etched into the paper. She glanced at another book, studying the ancient form of Chinese calligraphy displayed in it comparing it to the hieroglyphs in the journal trying to identity what they were.

They didn't match.

She let out another groan before banging her head against the desktop lightly.

"No luck, Elder Nivaline?"

Nivaline looked up and smiled at the Asiatic man standing at the doorway.

"Unfortunately no," she leaned back in her chair and smiled her thanks as the young man placed a cup of steaming tea in front of her, "Want to have a shot at it, Heng?"

The man laughed.

"If Elder Nivaline can't do it, I don't think a mere disciple like me would succeed."

Nivaline grimaced as she always did at the honorific attached to her name but she ignored it.

"Oh, Elder Huang said to look at these books. They might help you," Heng immediately dumped a new pile of books onto her desk.

Nivaline let out a low sigh.

"Another late night," she groaned.

"I could help," Heng offered.

"No, go sleep," Nivaline waved a hand at him, "You'll need your rest for your training tomorrow."

Heng gave her a small bow before leaving the room, leaving the former Angel to stare at the new pile of books in front of her in disgust.

"Man," she sighed, "This is going to take years."

And then she went back to work.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A guard sat inside his booth, snoring loudly, his yawns piercing the night's dark silence. Fluorescent lights lit up his blobby face as well as the gate he was supposed to be guarding.

Meiling strode confidently through the night, her body pulsing with adrenaline. With a wicked smirk on her face, she stepped right up to the booth and rattled the window loudly with her knuckles. The man jerked awake, staring around wildly.

"This is a break-in," Meiling announced loudly.

The man stared at her, incomprehensibly. Meiling stared back at him. They stood there for a few seconds, crickets chirping away merrily in the background. Meiling slowly arched an eyebrow.

"Okay…" she said slowly as though addressing a small child, "This is the part where you alert your fellow guards there's a break in… can you do that for me?"

The guard's podgy hands immediately shot out and slapped a red button on the control panel in front of him. Siren and red lights began to shriek and blare as Meiling smiled at him.

"Thanks."

With that she grabbed the glass, sliding it backwards before punching the man in the face. He fell instantly without a sound as Meiling whirled away, a fierce smile on her face. Guards began to pour through the gate as Meiling raised her fists.

With a fierce cry, she leapt into the fray.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

'_Showtime, Sakura!' _Tomoyo announced, her voice slightly distorted by static.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, speaking into the comm-link connecting her to her friend.

'_Meiling's a-fighting and she's loving it,' _Tomoyo assured her.

Sakura nodded before grabbing her wire-cutters. A few quick cuts and a section of the metal-link fence in front of her gave way, giving her access into Shoreland Construction's headquarters. Slipping quietly through the hole in the fence, Sakura immediately ran towards the main building, carefully keeping to the shadows. She could hear the alarms by now, could hear the trooping of heavy footsteps on hard ground.

She hoped Meiling was okay.

The Asian Angel had been determined to be the decoy for this mission; her job was to create a diversion distracting them from Sakura's more subtle entry. Sakura had the sneaky feeling Meiling relished the chance to take on a whole army of guards by herself. Rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her friend's blood lust, Sakura approached the backdoor to the complex.

It was locked, the mechanism guarding the door something highly complex involving a number-pad and a key card but Sakura had seen it all before. She pulled a small knife from her pocket and forced the blade under the number-pad cover. Gritting her teeth, she pushed down on her blade and the cover popped off, falling to the ground, revealing the wires and circuitry beneath. She cut several wires and began reattaching them in a new order, as the final two pieces of wire touched each other, an arc of blue sparks leapt between the two and the device gave off a loud beep. The door slid open as Sakura grinned in triumph.

"In," she relayed back to Tomoyo.

'_Good, proceed. Coast is clear,' _Tomoyo had hacked into the building's security systems and were now spying on the building through the own cameras.

Sakura nodded and quickly darted down the hallway.

'_Left. Left. Left. Right. Left. Right,' _Tomoyo's instructions zipped into her ear as Sakura turned as her friend instructed, without her friend she would be utterly lost in the maze of hallways inside the building.

With Tomoyo's voice whispering into her ear, Sakura made her way through the building, darting left and right as she hurried towards her goal.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling landed a vicious punch on one of the guard's face. He spun around with the force of the blow as Meiling finished him off with a swift karate chop to the neck. He fell away but two more guards instantly took his place. A powerful kick and a swift right hook knocked both guards down as a wicked smile danced across her face.

The grin quickly disappeared as a powerful punch smacked into her right cheek, knocking her off balance. A swift kick knocked out her knees as she hit the ground, guards instantly swooping down on her.

Meiling was pinned to the ground and helpless as they kicked and punched her viciously, unleashing all their fury and frustration down on her body. Gritting her teeth, she tried to gain leverage but there were too many guards. A hard boot smashed into her ribs as Meiling let out a yelp of pain, instinctively she lashed out kicking someone in the chest with both feet. He went soaring through the air, creating an opening in the ring of guards around her and she took full advantage of it, kicking out again, knocking another man back. With a cry, she lashed out with all four limbs striking out at the guards around her. They all flew backwards through the air as she expertly flipped back up onto her feet, whirling around and kicking a guard charging towards her. The tip of her boot slammed into his gut and he fell backwards, whimpering in pain.

Another guard rushed at her, swinging a heavy black baton at her. Meiling grabbed his wrist, halting the swing before swiftly breaking his wrist with a loud crack. He fell to the ground screaming in pain as Meiling took the baton off him and knocked him out with it in one swift hit.

She whirled around, clubbing another man with the baton before twirling it around with lightning speed in her hand and hurling it straight at another. It cartwheeled through the air into his temple and he dropped like a tonne of bricks to the ground with nary a sound. Leaping onto his fallen body, Meiling used it as a springboard to release a spinning fly kick into another guard sending him flying backwards. She hit the ground landing in a fighter's crouch, more guards rushed at her as Meiling grinned.

She flung herself at them and the battle raged on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura ran headfirst into him.

"Oof!" she bounced off his muscular body and hit the ground, the fall knocking the air from her lungs.

Wheezing for breath she looked up and froze as a guard stared down at her.

"Man," she sighed as she lashed out with her legs.

She swept his legs out from under him as she leapt up into a fighter's stance. Clearly Meiling had failed to draw out every single guard out of the building but Sakura really couldn't blame her. Obviously the guards weren't so poorly trained that they would just abandon the building. They had been taught enough or intelligent enough to have at all at least some remain behind as the others went out to investigate the intrusion outside.

A swift kick to the head knocked him out as Sakura froze, waiting to see if someone else had spotted her.

Silence.

She breathed a low sigh of relief and began padding down the hallway again.

"James?" a voice suddenly floated through the darkness.

She froze.

"James?" the voice was closer and more urgent, "Jam… what the hell?"

Mouthing a silent curse, Sakura whirled around only to stare into the glare of a flashlight. Her eyes watered from the sudden burst of light, trying to adjust to the brightness as the other guard gaped at her.

He instantly rushed towards one of the walls and Sakura heard the cracking of breaking glass before red lights blazed into life plunging the room into flashing ruby brilliance. Sirens screeched with piercing clarity as her eyes finally recovered. With another curse, she charged the man instantly taking him out with a lightning-fast left hook. He crumpled to the ground as Sakura looked around desperately, alarms shrieking all around her.

"Tomoyo!" she hissed, "Help!"

'_Sakura, they're coming in from everywhere!' _Tomoyo informed her quickly, _'Want to abort?'_

"NO! Just tell me where to go!"

_'Okay, head forwards. First left.'_

Sakura rushed down the hallway and did as her friend instructed.

'_There's a guard coming!' _Tomoyo growled, _'There's no way around him. You've got to take him out.'_

The American Angel nodded and instantly took cover behind a stack of crates lying against one wall as the sound of heavy footsteps reached her ears. A blurry shadow shot past as Sakura lashed out with both hands, the sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the air as a heavy form fell to the ground. Sakura smiled triumphantly before stepping over the unconscious guard.

"Okay, Tomoyo. Next."

_'Forwards. Second left.'_

Sakura nodded and dashed off the hallway as guards began to pour into the area.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Intruders!"

Adam whirled around, a frightened look on his face.

"Are you sure?" he demanded staring at his fellow worker.

Quentin nodded, vigorously.

"One's outside drawing guards away from the building and another's just been spotted trying to sneak around inside," he confirmed, "The guards are trying to hold them off but remember our instructions?"

Adam nodded.

"Activate the self-destruct program if anyone tries to break in," he recited as he turned towards the computer panel in front of him, "How did they break in?"

Quentin shrugged as he stepped up to the computer as well.

"One of the doors was tampered with," he explained as he began to type into the computer.

The screen lit up, demanding a password as the two men began to work hurriedly.

"Almost there," Adam whispered as he continued typing.

With a loud beep, the screen turned red as a series of numbers appeared on the screen.

"Self destruct program activated," the computer announced coolly through its speakers, "Self destructing in sixty seconds… fifty-nine seconds… fif…"

"Damn," Quentin sighed looking around at he room and the electronic equipment lining the walls, "We were so close to duplicating the Decoder program…"

"The boss wanted everything destroyed," Adam reminded him, "If anything was left behind…"

He shuddered.

"Come on," he grabbed his friend by the arm, "We better get out of here before this puppy blows."

With that the two men hurried out of the room as the computer continued its countdown.

"Forty-five seconds… forty-four…"

And from a ceiling corner, a security camera watched relaying everything back to Tomoyo Daidouji, Japanese Angel.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo frowned in confusion.

"What the?"

She quickly moved her mouse over to the image and clicked on it, enlarging the picture. Grainy black and white images showed two men working furiously at a computer panel. She zoomed in onto the computer screen trying to see what they were doing.

Her eyes widened as she finally managed to make out the words.

"Self-destruction program?" she muttered questioningly.

She glanced at the room number. It was A-14; the exact one Sakura was heading towards. Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly typed into her laptop, trying to establish contact with her friend again.

'_Tomoyo? Where do I go now?' _Sakura's furious voice boomed in her ears.

She had cut off contact with the American Angel before; when she had been trying to see what the two men were doing.

"Sakura!" she began hurriedly, ignoring her friend's anger, "A-14 has been…"

Suddenly she froze as she began to shudder violently, her eyes fluttering as her lavender irises began to darken to pure blackness. Her worried look vanished as an evil smirk curved her delicate lips.

"Nothing," she said calmly, her eyes now completely black, "A-14's nearby. Just head left and then right again."

'_Got ya,' _Sakura's voice filtered in through the comm-link, _'Thanks.'_

Tomoyo continued to beam with evil glee as she disconnected her comm-link and sat back. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell-phone, punching in a series of numbers, she waited as it began dialling.

"It's time," she said coldly as someone picked up on the other line, "Get ready."

Before the other person could reply, Tomoyo hung up and slipped her phone back into her pocket. Leaning back into her chair, she stared at her laptop with eyes that were like two wells of ebony darkness.

"Now…" she sighed, grinning with joy, "We sit back and enjoy the fireworks."

Black eyes stared at the screen as Sakura raced towards A-14.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling froze as she felt a fine shiver race through her bodies. Her senses screamed at her as she looked around in confusion.

"What the…"

The whole air seemed to hum with some strange power as the hair on the back of her neck began to rise. Before she could dwell too long on this new feeling, a fist to her face snapped her out of it.

Growling in anger, she backhanded the man knocking him away. Flinging herself back into the fray, Meiling prayed that her two friends particularly Sakura would be okay. Punching a man in the face, Meiling shrugged.

She was probably just being paranoid. Sakura would be fine; after all she had Tomoyo watching over her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Gunfire rattled through the darkness as Sakura ducked. Sparks flew through the air as metal bullets slammed into metal fixtures. She threw herself to the left, ducking in another hallway as the guards rushed after her.

Okay… what was the next instruction again?

Right?

Sakura's head whipped around and she beamed with triumph as she spotted a metal plague fixed into the concrete wall beside an open doorway.

"A-14," Sakura read, "Bingo."

She ducked into the room and instantly searched for a way to close the door. A bright red button jutted out from the wall near the doorway. With a wicked smile she hit the button and a metal door instantly slid down from the ceiling sealing the room shut.

She whirled around.

"Twenty seconds…" a cool mechanical voice informed her.

She frowned at the computer panel.

"What? Twenty seconds to wha…" her eyes widened as she caught sight of the computer screen, "Self-destruction?"

She instantly tried to contact her friend.

"TOMOYO!" she screamed in her comm-link, "I need you to close down the computers… TOMOYO!"

Silence greeted her.

"Twelve seconds…"

She whirled around and hit the red button again trying to open the door but nothing happened.

"TOMOYO!" she tried again as she raced towards the computer panel.

Glowing buttons and switched greeted her as she stared down at them.

"TOMOYO!"

Still no answer.

"Oh god… oh god… oh god…" she began to randomly hit buttons and flick switches but nothing seemed to stop the computer.

"Eight seconds…"

"TOMOYO!"

"Seven seconds…"

She looked around desperately and noticed a nearby chair. Racing towards it, she picked it up and hurled it at the computer.

She jumped backwards as the heavy metal chair slammed into the screen causing an explosion of glass and sparks to fly through the air. For a few panicked moments, there was absolute silence then…

"Four seconds…"

"TOMOYO!"

"Three seconds…"

Sakura looked around desperately, looking for a way to stop the computer.

"Two seconds…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Fujitaka whistled cheerfully as he began to fold his clothes, packing them into his suitcase. He had just spoken with his boss and he had agreed to allow Fujitaka to fly to Los Angeles earlier than planned. Which meant that he could spend even more time with his beloved daughter.

A small warm smile flashed around his face as Fujitaka took the photo frame sitting on the small table beside his bed and stared down at it. It was a picture of him and his daughter, both smiling brilliantly into the camera as a sunny parkland served as a beautiful background.

"Not long Cherry Blossom," he smiled happily, "Not long now."

He packed the photo frame into his suitcase and stretched. In less than twenty-four hours, he would be with his daughter again.

And he couldn't wait.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang smiled brilliantly as the man behind the counter as he showed him the necklace.

"It's perfect," he whispered studying the long strand of delicate golden chain, a small dangling diamond pendant the only adornment on the necklace, "I'll take it."

"The ring as well?" the jeweller enquired politely.

Xiaolang smiled.

"The ring as well," he confirmed.

The necklace and the ring matched perfectly, the diamond adorning the golden band, an almost exact carbon copy of the one on the necklace. The jeweller smiled and began to place the necklace and ring into two separate velvet cases as Xiaolang pulled out his wallet.

He hoped Sakura would love both pieces of jewellery.

And he hoped she would say yes to his question.

He loved Sakura with all his heart and once he had asked her father for permission, he would do it.

He would ask Sakura to marry him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline took another sip of tea as she stared down at the journal. It hadn't change from the last time she'd looked at it and the hieroglyphs still didn't make sense.

She let out another long sigh of frustration.

"Damn book."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kiyone leaned back in her chair as she chatted easily with her new friend. Nakuru and her had easily found common interests and they had barely stopped talking ever since they had left the training room, leaving medics behind to look after the battered Dan Williams.

Yukito had been polite in making conversation but Tommy had mostly been silent. Kiyone had the strangest feeling that Tommy wasn't the man's real name. It was just something about the way he said his name…

She frowned as she studied 'Tommy'.

He seemed to remind her of someone…

Shrugging, she pushed it out of her mind and continued to chat with Nakuru.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The Limbo's mist swirled around her as she stood up. A small frown crossed Mini-Meiling's face as the divine deity stared around in confusion. Suddenly a sad look flashed across her face.

"Oh dear," she whispered, staring out into nothing, "It's begun."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"One second… self destructing now."

Sakura let out a soundless scream of horror as the room around her exploded and crackling flames devoured her body.

_Firebomb…_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

CLIFFHANGER! I so hope this was worth the wait.

Next chapter:

The wait is finally over. The event that will forever shake the world of Syaoran's Angels has arrived. Shocks, twists and a whole lot of action are about to take place. Prepare yourself for the ultimate cliffhanger. When the dust settles, the Sakura, Meiling and Tomoyo you know will be changed forever. Find out what happens next in the shocking… _Bombshell_

A/notes: I'm really, really sorry, but life got in the way of writing but don't worry Chapter 10 will be out by next week… I swear! And when that does more explanation about why there was a massive delay will come.


	11. Bombshell

Here it is! The shocking twist that will change everything! Enjoy! And please REVIEW, I will not update unless I have 20 new reviews! 

Disclaimer: just read one of the other chapter's one…

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 10: Bombshell**

"Good morning Angels!" Syaoran greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning Syaoran!" three voices greeted him with equal happiness as brilliant sunlight gleamed in through the windows.

"Great job yesterday," Syaoran congratulated them, "The mission was an absolute success and thanks to you, another criminal has been put behind bars. Needless to say the Moore family is extremely grateful for your help in saving their daughter.

The three Angels high five-ed each other.

"No worries," Tomoyo replied happily, "It was a piece of cake really…"

"Yeah," Michelle Hutton scoffed, "Says the girl who sat in a van and looked at a laptop screen all afternoon."

Tomoyo glared at her.  
"Hey! If it wasn't for me, you would've walked straight into that guard!"

Michelle flushed and fell silent as Meiling smirked at her. Syaoran laughed and cut in before Tomoyo and Meiling could tease her anymore.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say good job Angels. Have a day off. Relax. I'll contact you tomorrow. Goodbye Angels!"

"Goodbye Syaoran!"

The speaker box fell silent as the three Angels turned towards one another.

"Sooo… Tomoyo…" Michelle began casually.

Tomoyo stared at her friend suspiciously.

"So what?" she demanded.

"How was your date last night?" Michelle continued blithely, fluttering her eyelids innocently.

Tomoyo snorted.

"Please, if you gossip vultures think I'm divulging my love life with you, you're dreaming."

"Well, I probably was when you returned from your date," Michelle smirked.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Tomoyo shot back.

"I called you at twelve last night and you still weren't back," Michelle's smirk grew wider, "So, either you were at home and not answering or the date went really, really late… come-have-coffee-at-my-house late."

Tomoyo flushed.

"Shut up," she muttered as Michelle and Meiling smirked at one another.

"How was it? Specifically how was Eriol?" Michelle needled.

A dreamy look instantly appeared on Tomoyo's face.

"If I say hot, sweet and sexy as usual would you leave me alone?" she asked.

Michelle and Meiling both nodded vigorously.

"Hot, sweet and sexy as usual," Tomoyo replied as Michelle's grin widened, "How about you? No date?"

Michelle shook her head, her short blonde hair catching the sun's rays and reflecting it back in golden dazzle.

"Nope," she confirmed, "Stay at home girl. That was me."

Meiling sighed.

"At least that makes two of us," she muttered, "I need a social life."

"Please," Michelle rolled her eyes, "You've got a hot fiancé at home to keep you company and you're complaining?"

"A hot fiancé who's too exhausted from work to do anything," Meiling countered.

Tomoyo and Michelle stared at her.

'Fine. Some snuggling. Minimum," Meiling conceded after a moment.

Tomoyo and Michelle stared at her, eyebrows raised. Meiling flushed.

"Oh quiet you," she snarled.

She glanced down at her watch and freaked.

"God! I'm going to be late!" she leapt up off the couch and instantly made for the door.

"What's wrong?" Michelle asked, worriedly.

Meiling smiled back at her.

"Oh nothing, I've just got to pick Lily up to school. I promised her we'd get some ice-cream."

"How is Lily doing with third grade?" Tomoyo asked curiously.

"Loving it."

Meiling gave them a small wave before she exited through the doorway, heading off to Lily's school as the two Angels left behind turned to one another.

"What're you going to do?" Tomoyo asked.

Michelle stood and began stretching.

"Don't know. Probably try to work on my loveless love life. You?"

Tomoyo grinned.

"Visit Eriol."

"Didn't get enough hot loving last night?" Michelle smirked.

"Shut. Up."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diana Armstrong Lacuray stared at herself in the mirror.

"Do I look fat?" she demanded to no one in particular.

"Are you talking to yourself or is this a conversation I can butt into?" Kevin Lacuray teased as he appeared behind his wife.

"Ha. Ha," Diana shot back, glaring at his reflection, "Answer the question."

"No, you don't look fat. You look perfect."

"Generic husband answer," Diana muttered as she went back to studying her figure, "God! I love being a mother but damn, pregnancy sucks! Nine months of hormonal bloated-ness… next time we're having children you're the one that's going to pop them out."

Kevin stared at her, his eyebrow arched in amusement.

"That made no sense and I don't think it's scientifically possible."

"Shut up, smart-ass," Diana muttered, "When your wife rants you shut up and nod, agreeing with everything she says."

Kevin opened her mouth to tease her some more when the sound of faint crying filtered into their room.

Both parents instantly whirled around and hurried into their daughter's room. Kevin was the first to reach the crib. Reaching down, he gently held his little daughter and cradled her softly against him, beaming down at her scrunched up features.

"Awww… come on sweetie… don't cry," he whispered, rocking her gently in his arms, "Come on be a good girl… don't cry."

A warm smile appeared on Diana's face as she watched her husband lovingly comfort their tiny little daughter. Her heart swelled with love as she moved forwards as well.

"Come on, Hope," she whispered stroking her daughter's cheek, "Don't cry."

Mother and father stood holding their tiny daughter: the image of a perfect happy family.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Ding dong!"

The doorbell chimed happily as Eriol shuffled to his apartment's front door, yawning. He pulled his door open and peered out, blinking blearily.

"You look tired," Tomoyo greeted cheerfully, "Did you have some sexy girlfriend keeping you up all night?"

Eriol smirked.

"I seemed to remember a certain violet-eyed enchantress," he leaned in closer with each word, a devilish smile playing on his lips.

"Wanna refresh your memories?" Tomoyo smiled saucily.

The door slammed shut behind her as Eriol literally dragged her inside. Tomoyo burst into laughter but it was quickly cut off as Eriol captured her lips in a slow, deep kiss.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang trailed his fingers against the cold stone, ignoring the silence around him.

"Hey there," he said gently, a small sad smile on his face, "The girls did great yesterday… rescued this little girl from this bunch of gangsters… you should've seen them."

He stopped, a small tear rolling down his cheek.

"So… how you've been. I hope you're happy… wherever you are," he blinked, tears blurring his vision, "Well, what's going on in my life? You know, same old, same old… I'm thinking of getting a dog or something… it's getting really lonely at my house all myself…"

He stopped taking a deep shuddering breath.

"But I don't know how to change," he continued, swallowing thickly, "I'm just so lost without you here. I don't know how I'm supposed to move on from any of this. I know it's been three years and you're probably screeching at me not to feel so guilty and move on with my life but it's so damn hard."

Xiaolang sighed, a world of pain in that one expulsion of breath.

"It's just so hard," he smiled sadly, "Well, thanks again for listening like you always do. I… I… I missed you. We all do… even now."

He stood up slowly, his eyes still focused on the slab of marble in front of him.

"See ya," he whispered before turning around and walking away.

The lush green grass underfoot swallowed his footsteps as he slowly strode away, his eyes never looking back.

If he did, he was sure he would cry.

A gentle breeze wafted through the cemetery shifting the leaves and tall grass revealing the gravestone.

Two words were carved deep into the stone, revealing the dead person buried in the grave:

SAKURA KINOMOTO.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"You need booze."

Touya glared up at her with blood-shot eyes.

"Shut. Up."

"Coffee?" Nakuru offered as a peace offering.

Touya stared at the cup in her hand as though it was an alien artefact found deep in the Amazon jungle hidden inside a crumbling Mayan temple.

"This is coffee. Thick, black hot liquid with the amazing ability to keep you awake," Nakuru said slowly, "Take. Drink. Enjoy."

Touya snatched the cup from her hands and instantly gulped down the scalding liquid.

"Okay… it's like feeding time at the zoo…" Nakuru commented to the air.

A shadow fell over her as Nakuru looked up. It was Yukito with a worried look marring his delicate features, his partner, Touya, instantly sprung to life.

"Anything?

Yukito shook his head sadly as Touya deflated.

"We're so dead," Touya muttered.

"Not our fault," Nakuru immediately responded.

Touya and Yukito stared at her. Nakuru shrugged.

"What? The microchips were technically American property. That's the feds problems not ours."

"Except for the funny little fact that it was stolen en route to Japan under our watch," Touya snapped, "Which means it's our not-so-little problem."

"Okay, fine," Nakuru surrendered, "So who's our suspects?"

"Hmmm… who in the world would want to steal microchips with data about nuclear warheads on them?" Touya pretended to think, "Oh I don't know, maybe every bloody rogue state in the world?!?"

Nakuru rolled her eyes.

"Jeez, chill," she muttered.

Yukito sighed wearily, stepping in between the two of them for possibly the millionth time in his life.

"Come on, you two. Break it up," he chided gently, "We've got work to do."

"Sir?"

All three agents turned around as a young agent knocked on the window politely.

"What?" Touya snarled as Yukito rolled his eyes at his friend's rudeness.

"News just came in," the young agent quickly passed the black-coloured file onto him before dashing off.

Touya flicked the file open and quickly scanned its contents.

"Oooo… nice," Touya beamed.

Nakuru and Yukito leaned in, curious.

"What's going on?" Yukito asked.

"We know where the chips are," Touya smirked, leaning back in his chair, satisfied, "And what's better we don't have to go after it."

"Whaddya mean?" Nakuru asked confused.

Touya beamed at her.

"It looks like our two favourite undercover agents are on the job."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo smiled happily, burying herself deeper into the bed sheets and blankets.

"That was nice," she purred.

Eriol chuckled.

"Nice? Not anything better? You know spectacular, breath-taking or I don't know… life-changing?"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes before punching her boyfriend lightly on the shoulder.

"Egomaniac," she muttered.

Eriol laughed and kissed her on the lips. It quickly escalated as Tomoyo wrapped her arms around his naked torso, pulling him closer and closer…

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

Tomoyo swore and pushed Eriol off her as her phone went off. Eriol flopped onto his back and groaned as Tomoyo searched desperately through her pile of clothes on the ground, trying to find her phone. She finally pulled it free.

"Hello?" she asked flipping it open.

She scowled, listening to the other person before sighing and nodding her head.

"I'll be right in."

She hung up and threw her phone onto the ground in frustration.

"Syaoran?" Eriol asked as Tomoyo turned back to him.

"Syaoran." Tomoyo sighed, "Looks like another mission. And he wants you to come in as well. It looks like we need back-up on this."

"Me? Again?" Eriol was surprised, "Don't you guys usually call Xiaolang for back-up?"

Tomoyo smiled grimly.

"After last time?"

Eriol winced as he searched for his shirt.

"It wasn't that bad…" he pulled his wrinkled shirt on.

Tomoyo snorted.

"He almost beat that poor man to death!" Tomoyo sighed, "I think Xiaolang's losing it."

"I think he's been losing it for a while… ever since…" Eriol trailed off uncomfortably.

"Sakura's death," Tomoyo finished off quietly.

She trembled, a tear rolling down her face as she remembered that terrible night. The night their mission went horribly wrong. The night of the explosion at Shoreland Constructions.

The night Sakura died.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback: Three Years Before_

Tomoyo typed hurriedly trying to hack into the computer system trying to stop the self-destruction program but it was no use. A blaring 'access denied' sign flashed across her laptop screen as she let out a small cry of horror.

"SAKURA!" she yelled into her comm-link, "Get out of there!"

All that greeted her was the faint crackling of static.

"SAKURA!"

She tried to break into the system again but once again the firewalls proved too powerful. Another 'access denied' appeared as Tomoyo tried again.

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

"BOOM!"

A shockwave rocked the van as Tomoyo let out a scream of horror. She immediately threw her laptop away as she yanked the van door open, sliding out she instantly searched for the source of the explosion. Her worse fears were confirmed as she spotted a huge tower of smoke writhing out of the Shoreland Constructions building, fire leaping high into the night sky.

"Sakura," she whispered racing towards the building, "SAKURA!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling felt a wave of fierce heat sweep over her body as she was thrown to the ground by a powerful concussive wave. For a few seconds smoke blinded her vision but she blinked it away as she crawled to her feet. Her eyes widened with horror as she realised an explosion had just ripped through the Shoreland Constructions headquarters.

"SAKURA!"  
Meiling whirled around and saw Tomoyo racing towards her.

"Tomoyo! What happened?!?" she demanded as her friend reached her side.

Tomoyo stared at the burning building, her face pale and haggard. It took her a few long seconds to stutter out a reply.

"Sakura… self-destruction program… she was right in its path!"

Meiling instantly raced towards the building, her fellow Angel right behind her. Flames clawed at them as they charged straight through the front door fighting against the tide of workers streaming out of the building. Thick smoke immediately choked them as they fought their way into the corridors.

"Where?" Meiling choked out, coughing violently.

"A-14…" Tomoyo murmured looking for a sign or something, she spotted one directing them to Section A of the building, "THERE!"

They followed the sign and were immediately greeted by a towering wall of crackling flames. Heat and smoke forced them backwards as they searched desperately for a way through the flames.

"Count of three!" Meiling roared over the howling of the flames, "One… two… THREE!"

The two Angels leapt into the inferno racing blindly through the smoke, Tomoyo leading the way. They raced through fire and debris desperately searching for their friend. Suddenly they burst through the flames and came to a patch of corridor, charred and blackened, smouldering but not alit.

"This is it…" Tomoyo whispered dazedly, "A-14."

Through the unholy symphony of crackling flames, the girls treaded slowly towards the burnt out room.

"Sakura?" Tomoyo's voice was small and afraid, "Sakura?"

Meiling was silent, her face ashen.

"Tomoyo… no one could have survived this," she murmured, numbed by shock, "I don't think she…"

Meiling trailed off, not wanting to put those terrible thoughts into words.

"No!" Tomoyo screamed at her, "No! She's alive! She's got to be!"

But Meiling was not listening instead her ruby eyes were staring at something laying on the ground, her pupils wide and unblinking. Tomoyo followed her gaze and instantly saw what her friend had spotted. Her hands flew up to her mouth as she fought down the urge to vomit.

A charred skeleton lay on the ground, its flesh reduced to ashes, its exposed bones blackened and warped by heat.

Meiling's knees buckled and she fell to her knees, still staring at the skeleton.

"That's not her," the Asian Angel whispered, "It's not her… it can't be her… it can't be her."

Tomoyo stared down at the skeleton, her mind coldly shoving her emotions aside as she analysed the bones.

"It's a female," Tomoyo murmured, "Its femur bones are definitely a woman's. It's about the right height and build as well…"

Meiling stared up at her in anguish.

"Oh my god," she whispered.

Tomoyo slowly backed away from her friend's remains, her head shaking in disbelief trying to deny what she was seeing.

"She's dead."

Tomoyo felt tears pour down her face.

"Sakura's dead."

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Tomoyo."

Eriol's gentle voice wrenched her back into the present.

"Sorry," Tomoyo said shakily, "Sorry… I…"

"There's nothing to apologise for," Eriol said firmly.

Tomoyo smiled sadly and fell into her boyfriend's embrace as she tried to use the warmth of his arms to chase away the cold chills of that nightmarish memory.

But it refused to go away.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Good evening Angels."

Eriol cleared his throat.

"… and Eriol," Syaoran quickly amended, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Eriol smirked as the Angels sniggered.

"I called this meeting because an urgent matter has just arisen. Two days ago, four microchips en route to Japan from the American military was stolen," Syaoran explained, "The chips contained information about some of America's nuclear armaments including how they constructed warheads in various facilities. The fact they have gone missing is very alarming."

"Terrorists go boom," Michelle added helpfully.

"Yes," Syaoran acknowledged, "We need to get those chips back."

"So we need to track them down?" Tomoyo suggested, "Those chips usually have some sort of tracking device on them, it won't be hard to hack into their frequency and…"

"No need to," Syaoran stopped her, "The chips location is known. They are currently in the United Arab Emirates held in the palace of one Akhmal Hijami."

The wooden panels on the sidewall slid away revealing a TV screen as the three Angels and Eriol turned towards it. The face of a bearded man appeared on it.

"He appears to be the mastermind behind the stealing of the chips," Syaoran continued, "From what I've gathered the chips are being held in his mansion in the United Arab Emirates, each one held in separate towers."

The image of the Hijami faded replaced by the blueprint of a massive sprawling mansion. Four red dots blinked on screen, each one set in the four corners of the palace.

"Each of you will have to tackle one of the four towers each," Syaoran told them, "You will have to be swift. Hijami has an impressive security force. Be quiet and quick."

"Okay, bust into heavily guarded mansion and steal chips," Meiling tilted her head to the side studying the blueprint, "Seems easy enough."

"Yeah, kinda like trying to put out a forest fire with a paper fan," Michelle agreed dryly.

"I have faith in you," Syaoran said firmly, "Good luck Angels… and Eriol. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Syaoran!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

United Arab Emirates:

The setting sun bleached the Arabian Desert a deep violet. Its dying rays staining the skies a vivid red, a colour reflected in the glistening white outer walls of Hijami's opulent mansion, making it seem drenched in blood.

"PHWIP!"

A curious sound hissed through the quiet desert night air as a grapple hook shot up into the air, arching over the top of the wall before clanging onto the sentry's walkway.

Meiling winced at the loud sound before gently tugged onto the rope, pulling the hook closer to the wall before its metal claws snagged on something. She yanked at the rope.

It was secure.

"Think anyone heard?" Tomoyo murmured.

"Hear gunshots?" Michelle whispered back.

Meiling rolled her eyes.

"Who wants to go first?" she offered the rope to Eriol who gave her an incredulous look.

Tomoyo and Michelle shook their heads.

"Fine," Meiling glanced up at the sheer wall face she was about to climb, "Here goes."

Pulling herself up, she began to climb.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol heaved himself over the edge, panting for breath.

"Weak," Meiling smirked as Eriol glared at her.

"You try climbing that with this strapped to your back," he muttered gesturing at the rifle holstered to his back.

"Come on," Tomoyo called out softly.  
She darted across the walkway heading towards the stairs as the others followed closely, sticking to the shadows.

Incredibly no guards were around as they climbed down the stairs into a small courtyard before ducking in the mansion proper.

All four of them stopped and gaped as they slid in through the mahogany doors.

"Whoa, Donald Trump's wet dream," Michelle gasped.

The marbled floors reflected the massive crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. Massive columns inlaid with gold and lapis lazuli glimmered in the light as gold gilt glowed at the window frames. Richly embroidered tapestry hung from the walls as medieval weapons: swords, scimitars, morning stars hung from racks, displayed for all to see.

This was a mansion of the super-rich, each detail designed to reflect Hijami's immense wealth.

"Crime does pay," Michelle muttered awed as Meiling glared at her.

"Moyo?"

Tomoyo pulled out a blueprint from her jacket and checked it.

"This way," she indicated.

The four of them quickly crossed the hallway, senses on high alert but all was silent.

"Does anyone else think this is a bit too quiet?" Eriol muttered.

Meiling frowned.

"Yeah, this does seem a little eas…"

"BOOM!"

Fire blasted through the air as a section of the wall in front of them exploded shoving them to the ground. Smoke and fire and debris gushed into the mansion as somewhere, deep in the palace, an alarm went off.

"What the hell?" Meiling choked, coughing up dust as she tried to see through the smoke.

"Well, well what do we have here?" a familiar voice drawled.

Meiling froze as the others tensed.

"God damn it!" Eriol swore.

The smoke cleared slightly revealing a slim female body. Light blue hair draped over pink eyes as a devilish smile lit up the pale porcelain face.

"Hello, Angels," Uri Rakura smirked.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Akhmal Hijami rushed into his security room as his guards looked up from the bank of security camera screens.

"Who did they get in?!?" Hijami raged in Arabic.

The guards looked blankly at each other. Roaring with fury Hijami pulled out a gun and shot one of the guards point-blank. He crumpled into a bloody heap on the ground as Hijami stabbed the air with his finger, pointing at one the screens showing the intruders.

"KILL THEM!!!!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Bitch," Meiling snarled.

Three more figures emerged from the dust behind Uri as the Cobra Mark assassin laughed gleefully.

"Is that the way to greet an old friend?" Uri sneered, her voice became singsong. "I don't think so."

Meiling ignored her as her ruby eyes locked on a towering muscular figure behind Uri. Verona Slazukov's ivory mask glimmered in the light as Meiling tightened her fists, rage burning in her eyes.

"Didn't we kick your collective asses just two weeks ago?" Michelle sighed, "Man, you guys are persistent."

"Shut it, amateur," a gravely voice growled out.

Michelle stiffened and glared at the woman who spoke. Dressed in a silk Arabian gown, the woman's face was covered with a sheer yellow veil that hid most of her features from view. Only her burning black eyes could be seen through a small slit in the cloth, a few strands of dark hair peeking out through the same gap.

"Well, this is fun and all," a tall brown-haired man smirked at them, "But we've gotta run. You know, people to kill, things to steal."

"Sorry, Jonathan Blackly," Tomoyo spat, "But you have to get through us first."

"Gladly," Jonathan sneered.

Moving with lightning fast speed, he whipped out his pistol and fired. The bullet blasted forwards with deadly accuracy but the Angels and Eriol were already in motion leaping through the air as the bullet missed, tearing a furrow into the marble tile. Meiling landed and rolled behind a column as the others did the same behind different ones.

"Get to the towers! Steal the chips! Now!" Meiling yelled to them.

"You heard the girl," Uri commanded, "Go!"

Jonathan, Verona and the yellow-veiled woman dashed off in different directions as Meiling swore.

"After them!"

"I've got Sandra!" Michelle cried as she raced off after the yellow-veiled woman.

With a small nod at one another, Eriol took off after Jonathan as Tomoyo leapt at Uri. The assassin laughed and dodged her blows before charging off herself. Tomoyo was a step behind her as Meiling grinned.

"Me vs. Verona, Round 115," she cracked her knuckles in anticipation before taking off.

When Hijami's guards finally arrived at the scene all they found was a gaping burning hole in the wall and a bullet hole in the ground. With a glance at one another, they immediately took off after the intruders.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle caught a glimpse of yellow silk as she rounded the corner, skidding on the marble tiles. Cursing, she straightened before speeding off again.

"CRACK!"

The whip missed her by mere inches as it slashed the air. Michelle swore and ducked as Sandra cracked the whip again, the long length of leather slicing the air above her head.

"Oh come on!" Michelle cried straightening, "Doing the whole cowgirl thing again? This isn't a bloody rodeo!"  
"But you're a cow," Sandra snarled back, "So it fits."

Michelle glared at her as Sandra unleashed her whip again. The blonde Angel leapt to the side as it lashed the ground, flicking up dangerously but Michelle threw herself through the air knocking Sandra down. Both women skidded across the cold marble but Sandra came out on top, punching Michelle in the jaw before flinging herself away, flipping neatly onto her feet. With a final smirk at the downed Angel she dashed off again, whip in hand.

"Son of a…" Michelle snarled as she pulled herself upright.

Clutching her bruised jaw, Michelle whipped around the corner in hot pursuit as the sound of pounding feet echoed down the long empty hallway.

The guards were right behind her.

With a snarl of frustration, Michelle increased her speed.

She had to beat Sandra to the tower.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling skidded to a halt as someone hidden around the corner barked out something in Arabic. She froze as the cries became more frantic. Suddenly gunfire blasted down the hall, the din drowning out all else.

Meiling merely sighed and rolled her eyes.

"That's not going to do it," she muttered.

The gunfire screeched to a stop as someone began howling in pain. Meiling winced as a full-grown man went sailing through the air in front of her, hitting the far wall with a bone-crunching crack before sliding down to the tiles, out cold. A second meaty thud filled the air as another body went flying.

"Let's rumble," Meiling smirked, cracking her knuckles.

With that she dashed around the corner as Verona landed a final devastating kick to the final guard sending him spinning into a column. The man smacked into the marble and flopped backwards onto the ground, his face a bloody mess.

"Hey, silent girl," Meiling called out.

Verona whirled around, arms raised in a boxer's stance. Meiling shifted her feet, sliding into a martial arts' pose. For a split second, the two fighters stared at each other, eyeing up the enemy.

"ARGH!"

With a fierce war cry, Meiling leapt through the air and the battle was on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"You can't catch me cause I'm the Gingerbread man!" Uri chanted over her shoulder, grinning wickedly at Tomoyo's flushed face.

"Yeah, you're a man alright!" Tomoyo growled back.

Uri merely laughed and jeered at her as she raced around the corner.

"BAM!"

Uri slammed into the guards, knocking one over as she froze, her eyes wide with shocked. The guards stared back at her, stunned at her sudden collision with them.

"That's right! I've got you no…" Tomoyo trailed off as she rounded the corner and stared at the phalanx of guards standing in front of her, "Oh shi…"

"GET THEM!" one of the guards roared in Arabic, "FIR…"

The words were cut off as Uri whipped out a dagger from her leg sheath and stabbed him in the gut. His eyes bulged in shock as blood dribbled down his mouth. Smirking into his dimming eyes, Uri kicked the body away.

"That's right boys," Uri growled at the guards who were staring at her in horror.

She shifted into a crouch, pulling out her second dagger.

"I'm the reaper."

The guards charged forwards, firing wildly as Uri slashed forwards catching one man across the chest. She ploughed through them, slashing and tearing with her daggers as they fell before her. Tomoyo was pulled into the fray as one of the guards charged at her. A swift kick and punch knocked his rifle out of his hands before she slammed his face into the wall knocking him out.

For a short while, the two mortal enemies worked together as they dispatched of Hijami's guards, Uri slaying them with her daggers as Tomoyo opted to knock them out.

Tomoyo flipped over one guards, nailing him in the back with a spinning kick as somewhere to her left, Uri lashed out in a scissor kick knocking another guard down before stabbing him fatally with her left dagger. The right one went flying embedding itself in another guard's throat as Uri laughed at the carnage.

"This is fun!" she crowed ecstatically.

She whipped around only to have the cold end of a rifle barrel jabbed into her throat. The guard snarled at her, murder burning in his eyes.

Uri's eyes widen.

"WHAM!"

The guard's eyes bulged as he freezes, his rifle falling from his stunned hands. Uri blinks as he slumps to the ground revealing Tomoyo standing behind him, hands still clenched into fists.

Uri smirks.

"Awww… Tomoyo saving lil' ol moi?" the blue-haired assassin drawled, "Hey, you're not developing feelings for me are you? Cause I don't swing that way."

"No," Tomoyo growled coldly.

"SMACK!"

Uri flailed backwards as Tomoyo punched her square in the face.

"I want to take you down myself."

Uri's grin widened as Tomoyo leapt to the attack.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Gunshots howled down the hall as Eriol cursed loudly, his voice drowned out by the gunfire. Hazarding a shot, he spun around the column firing off one bullet before hurriedly taking cover again, bullets ripping into the ground.

One unlucky guard went down as Eriol's bullet hit with uncanny accuracy cutting short his life.

Jonathan Blackly, Cobra Mark assassin, was pinned down behind another column just to his right, his dark brown eyes fixed on the guards firing at them as he readied his shotgun, pumping another shell into the gun chamber.

"BOOM!"

Eriol winced despite himself as Jonathan's shot tore into one of the guards sending the body flying backwards into the wall as Jonathan smirked and ducked behind his column again, the gunfire drawn towards him.

"Freaking accurate bastard," Eriol muttered.

The two had clashed on missions before and Eriol had to grudgingly admit the man was a good shot… a very good shot, one of the best he's ever seen. Even though he would rather die than admit it, Jonathan could easily match his skills.

Gritting his teeth, Eriol waited as a lull came in the constant gunfire. Aiming with instinct, Eriol pulled the trigger again, smiling with grim satisfaction as another guard went down.

Eriol and Jonathan glanced at each other, each one keeping a mental tally of the other. They were two trained assassins in competition. Each trying to outdo the other.

Eriol smirked to himself.

And he was in the lead.

Jonathan glanced at him and smirked. Eriol blinked in surprise as he pulled a dark disk from his Kevlar vest. Risking a quick shot, Jonathan fired with one hand as his other hurled the disk at the ground.

The guards ducked, their attention drawn by the bullet as the disk slid across the marble floor, unnoticed.

"CLACK!"

The guards jumped as the disk hit the column they were hiding behind.

Jonathan's smirk widened.

"BOOM!"

The high-powered explosive exploded engulfing the guards in white-hot flames as Eriol swore. Jonathan laughed and charged through the smoke as Eriol took off after him, a step too slow.

"That was cheating!" he cried.

"Sue me!"

Jonathan whipped around and fired as Eriol ducked, the bullet ripping the air above his head.

"BANG!"

Eriol smirked as his shot blasted the gun from Jonathan's hands. With a cry of victory, he leapt forwards tackling the Cobra Mark agent down. A swift punch knocked him down as Eriol jammed the gun into his face.

"Surrender," Eriol said coolly, pulling the hammer back, "Or die."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling leapt through the air into a two-feet flying kick. Verona merely grunted as Meiling's attack slammed into her iron-hard stomach, the Asian Angel bouncing off as she crashed to the ground.

"Why do I always try that?" Meiling wheezed as she heaved herself up.

Verona lashed out in a vicious snap kick but Meiling hurled herself away rolling to her feet in one fluid motion as Verona pressed the attack, chopping and kicking at her as Meiling ducked and parried her blows.

A lucky punch blurred Meiling's vicious as her head snapped backwards but she used the force of the blow to go in to a back-flip sailing over Verona's side kick as she landed in a crouch, gasping for breath.

"God damn it, you're fast," Meiling gasped.

Her expressionless ivory mask glimmered in the chandelier light as Verona charged forwards. Meiling growled and leapt straight at her. Verona lashed out with a one-two combo punch but Meiling flipped through the air, kicking the towering Russian woman in the chest and face before landing in a handstand both legs firing off in a double-kick. The attack blasted into Verona's chest, the force of the blow sending her stumbling as Meiling grinned.

"So Franken-woman does fumble," she smirked.

Verona merely straightened herself and blasted a punch at her. Meiling duck as Verona's fist slammed into the hard marble wall. The ruby-eyed Angel gaped at the Cobra Mark agent as Verona merely shook out her fist before turning towards her. The cold dark slits that stood for eyes on the ivory mask seemed to burn into her soul as Meiling gulped.

"Oh boy," she sighed.

The next punch sent her flying through the air.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The cool Arabian night air swept through the small balcony jutting out from Hijami's opulent mansion stirring the fine grit that layered the stony floor as silence pervaded through the night.

It was a calm and serene scene, the quiet of the night undisturbed and intact.

"BAM!"

The glass door shattered, ripping the silence apart as Michelle and Sandra stumbled through the wreckage crashing to the balcony floor as both women gasped for breath.

"Gotcha ya," Michelle managed to get out.

Sandra growled and kicked out knocking Michelle down. She leapt up to her feet but Michelle ploughed into her with a double-kick to the chest thrusting her back into the balcony's railings. Sandra scrambled for purchase as her body threatened to spill over the edge.

Michelle smirked and slowly climbed to her feet.

"See ya… bitch."

"BAM!"

Sandra flipped over the edge of the balcony plummeting down to her death as Michelle's fist slammed into her head. The blonde Angel smirked and turned away as she celebrated her victory.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" she sang, "Who's the greatest? Uh huh! Who's the greatest?"

"CRACK!"

Michelle screamed in pain as Sandra's whip lashed through the air and wrapped itself around her arm, tearing through cloth and skin. Gritting her teeth, she slowly turned around.

Sandra smirked at her, one hand clinging onto the railing, the other wrapped around the other end of her whip.

"I am," the yellow-veiled assassin snarled.

Michelle was yanked backwards hitting the ground as Sandra pulled on her whip. The Cobra Mark agent deftly shoved her arm downwards catapulting herself through the air as she launched into a flip. Michelle screamed in pain as Sandra landed knees first on her stomach driving the air from the battered Angel's lungs.

As Michelle gasped for breath, Sandra smirked down at her pain. Spitefully she dug in her knees even deeper, pinning her down.

"Nighty night newbie," Sandra spat.

And her fist came flying down.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

In a blur of movement, Uri ripped a dagger free from her leg sheath as Tomoyo instantly ducked, Uri's blades slicing the air where her head had been. The Japanese Angel lashed out, kicking one of the daggers free from the assassin's hands. Deftly she caught the blade and pointed it at Uri.

"Come on, fair fight," she snarled.

Uri smirked and charged straight at her.

TING!  
TING!  
TING!  
The two metal blades glanced off each other as both women went onto the attack, feinting and slashing trying to find an opening. It was a lethal dance, assassin and Angel locked in combat, their movements fluid and graceful. Their daggers silver flashes slashing through the air.

Uri sliced down and Tomoyo was too slow to dodge the blow, the tip of the dagger slicing through the sleeve of her shirt drawing blood.

"First blood!" Uri crowed, smirking as she darted forwards.

Tomoyo fended the blow away as she sneered back.

"A mere scratch."

Uri's grin became even more maniacal as she leapt forwards, her feet moving in complex patterns as she pushed Tomoyo back with the sheer speed and fury of her onslaught. Tomoyo gritted her teeth in pain as Uri's dagger rained down on hers time and time again, the force of the blows sending shockwaves down her arm.

With a brutal kick, Uri shoved Tomoyo backwards but the Angel quickly recovered, ducking another a slash. Tomoyo grabbed Uri's arm before she can retreat and hurled her away, slamming her against the wall.

"Head or gut?" Tomoyo snarled raising her dagger dangerously, "Where do you want it?"

"Why don't you stick it up your own a…" Uri began.

Tomoyo stabbed at her but Uri was quicker, spinning away as the dagger glanced off the wall. Moving with insane speed, Uri ripped something free from her trademark white jumpsuit and shoved it at Tomoyo.

The taser crackled and spat as the small arc of blue sparks jumping between the two metal electrodes touched Tomoyo's dagger.

Electricity immediately arced down the length of the blade as Tomoyo's body convulsed wildly. With a cry, Tomoyo was sent flying into the far wall as Uri sniggered, holding her sparking taser aloft.

"Sorry… didn't mean to shock you there," she smirked.

Tomoyo glared up at her, her hair slightly smoking, her face pained.

"Worse pun ever," the Angel managed to cough out.

"Don't worry I assure you my next one will be…" Uri almost purred with glee, "More electrifying."

She darted forwards, dagger and taser aimed straight at the seemingly helpless Angel. A look of utter shock passed over her face as Tomoyo shoved aside her pain and lashed out, catching her feet in a scissor kick. Uri's weapons went flying from her hand as she crashed to the ground.

Tomoyo smiled coldly.

"Boom, boom ching," she mimed the sound of the drums as her feet shot out once again, heel-kicking Uri straight in the face.

Uri's pink eyes dimmed as she collapsed, out cold. Gasping for breath, Tomoyo slowly staggered to her feet and glared down at the assassin.

"BAM!"

She sucker-punched the unconscious woman in the face. Straightening, she sighed.

"Just making sure," she murmured.

Hobbling, she slowly made her way to the tower.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"You think you've got me haven't you?" he asked dryly.

"I've got a gun to your head don't I?" Eriol spat back.

Jonathan merely smirked.

"Surprise!"

Before Eriol could react, Jonathan raised his hand showing him the detonator clutched there. The Cobra Mark agent pushed the red button with glee.

"BOOM!"

Shockwaves blasted Eriol off his feet as an explosion went off somewhere behind him. He landed painfully, coughing out smoke as Jonathan slowly climbed to his feet, his face blackened by soot.

"I dropped another explosive when I charged at you," Jonathan told him calmly, "The smoke from before just covered my actions."

Eriol slowly climbed to his feet still wheezing for breath. His gun was lying somewhere metres away, blown out of his hands.

"Well," Jonathan observed calmly, "This does appear to be a standoff doesn't it?"

Eriol merely raised an eyebrow.

"Ready?" his hands were slowly drifting to the holster at his belt.

"One… two…" Jonathan began counting.

"THREE!"

Both assassins whipped out their guns and immediately began flying and running at the same time. Bullets blasted through the air and smashed into the marble tiled floor as both men began firing at each other.

Eriol skidded behind the cover of a fire-damaged pillar as he called out to his foe.

"Missed me!" he taunted.

"Wasn't aiming for you," came the smug reply.

Eriol's eyes widened in shock as Jonathan gestured upwards at the roof. A massive crystal chandelier, its mooring completely ravaged by Jonathan's bullets was swinging dangerously.

"Oh shi…" Eriol began before a thunderous crash ripped through the air.

The chandelier shattered, glass and metal spraying everywhere as Jonathan sniggered.

"See you later champ," he called out, "Better luck next time!"

Flames leapt into the air as Jonathan headed for the stairs and the tower. Eriol stepped forwards trying to fire off one last desperate shot but the heat and fire forced him backwards.

Jonathan sniggered and gave him a jaunty wave before smoke and flames obscured his tall frame.

With a loud curse, Eriol threw his gun to the ground.

He hated losing.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle snapped her head to the side as Sandra's fist slammed into the ground.

"Son of a…" the Cobra Mark assassin screamed.

Smirking, Michelle blasted an opened palm strike straight into her chest. Sandra was thrown off as Michelle slowly crawled to her feet.

"And you were calling me newbie?" Michelle smirked, "Does the words kettle, pot, black meaning anything to you?"

Sandra glared at her, shifting into a fighter's stance. Suddenly she stopped and rolled her eyes.

"Screw this," Sandra muttered, "I've got better things to do."

Michelle leapt at her but Sandra knocked her backwards with a spinning kick. The blonde Angel crashed to the ground as Sandra raised her whip.

"See you round," Sandra smirked.

CRACK!

Sandra sent her whip slicing through the air as Michelle gaped at her. The long length of leather wrapped itself around the railings of a balcony above them as Sandra shot her one last nasty grin.

"I guess this makes our little score like one thousand to zero huh?" Sandra sighed, "Well, better luck next time."

Michelle charged at her but Sandra leapt up into the air and shoved off from the edge of the rails. The blonde Angel could only cry out in frustration as Sandra swung across the gap to the next balcony several metres.

With a flick of her wrist, her whip was free. Sandra tossed Michelle a triumphant smirk as she lashed out with her whip again. It wrapped itself around another set of rails as she swung to the next one.

Michelle could only watch as Sandra swung away.

With a cry of fury, she slammed her fist against the balcony rails.

"GOD DAMN IT!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"GOD DAMN IT!"

Meiling crashed into a set of suited armour standing in the hallway as Verona advanced on her calmly. Looking desperately for a weapon, Meiling's eyes lit up as she saw the shield on the armour.

Yanking it free, she brandied it wildly.

"Come on!" Meiling cried, "Bring it!"

Verona's fist crashed down into the shield with a resounding gong. Meiling gritted her teeth as shockwaves tore up at her arms. Verona merely swung her other fist around, Meiling ducked before shoving the shield upwards clipping Verona on her masked chin. The towering Russian fighter stumbled backwards as Meiling leapt into a spinning kick slamming her foot into Verona's iron-hard stomach.

"Why. Won't. You. FALL?!?" Meiling screamed punctuating each word with a hefty blow.

Verona kicked out at her as Meiling blocked it with her shield. But the force was enough to knock her down as Verona lashed down with a right hook.

Meiling shoved her shield upwards catching the blow but Verona's fist smashed into the metal, denting it.

The Asian Angel gaped at her.

"What the hell do you eat?!?" she gasped.

Verona merely kicked her for an answer. Meiling's body rolled down the hall as the shield went flying out of her hands.

Meiling slowly crawled to her feet but Verona was there. A devastating punch sent Meiling flying.

She crashed into an immense glass display cabinet, broken glass biting into her back. As she slid to the ground, bruised and broken, Verona calmly turned around.

"Come back here!" Meiling screeched, glass raining down on her, "I'm not finished yet!"

She tried to climb to her feet, scrambling for purchase but a sliver of glass cut her hand. She fell back to the ground, gasping in pain.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Verona calmly walked off, turning the corner as Meiling let out a scream of rage, pounding the ground in fury.

"I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!!!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandra swung to her final balcony and tweaked her wrist, her whip coming free from the rails above her and falling back into her hand. Calmly she opened the glass doors and stepped back into the hallway. Turning towards the immense flight of spiralling stairs, she began to climb up.

"STOP!" a man screamed in Arabic.

"Make me!" Sandra spat back in the very same language.

A trio of guards charged down the stairs but Sandra was quicker, leaping up into the air and double-kicking the two guards on the side. The final guard stared at her bewildered as she landed, the two guards by his side slumping to the ground.

"Night night," Sandra sneered as she punched the man in the face.

Shoving his body aside, Sandra stepped over the knocked-out guards as she headed to the thick wooden door set in the wall ahead. Two powerful kicks broke the lock and the door swung inwards.

She stepped inside and immediately headed for the small table in the centre of the room.

She opened the metal case lying there and smiled, seeing the microchip nestled in the padding inside.

"Well, hello little pretty," she snapped the case shut and held it up, "Wanna come home with mama?"

Smiling, she headed for the door.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Jonathan calmly tied the end of the cable around one of the columns. Grabbing the case with the chip in it, he headed for the window, trailing the long cable behind him. He stuck his head out and glanced at the immense drop from the tower to the sandy ground below.

Smiling, he climbed onto the windowsill balancing the case carefully.

With a deep breath, he leapt backwards into the night air, freefalling as the cable played out behind him.

With an audible twang, the cable reached it limits, tension tightening the wire. Jonathan calmly dropped the last metre to the ground landing in a crouch.

Whistling, he hefted the case and walked off.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"They were there?" Syaoran asked, his voice sounding slightly slurred.

"Yep, the good ol' Cobra Mark gang," Michelle scowled, "And as much as I hate to admit it… they're good."

"Jonathan got the better of me again," Eriol muttered bitterly, "I swear next time…"

"How many chips did you manage to retrieve?" Syaoran asked.

Tomoyo glanced up from her ministrations on Meiling's wound, looking at the speaker-box she had set up in their hotel room.

"One," she sighed, "Just one."

"Damn Verona," Meiling spat as Tomoyo turned back to her tightening a bandage, "I would've finished her off if she hadn't gotten away."

"One…" Syaoran's voice trailed off, "That's not good."

"Don't worry," Eriol assured him, "We've got a contingency… a Plan B."

There was puzzled pause from Syaoran.

"What do you mean?"

"We can make a trade with them," Michelle told him.

"A trade? What have you got that they want?" Syaoran asked, still confused.

As one the three Angels and Eriol turned to something tied on one of the hotel beds. Uri Rakura's prone body laid on the white sheets, her hands and feet bound tightly with rope, her mouth gagged.

"Angels?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anthony Collins scowled, his handsome face dark with rage.

"So they got Uri huh?" he spat, "Those fu…"

"Calm down," Jonathan said, "We'll get her back."

"And how do you propose we do that?!?" Anthony snapped.

Verona sat in a corner of the dark room as usual silent.

"Don't worry boss," Sandra told him confidently.

Anthony turned to her as Sandra peeled back her yellow silk veil.

"We'll get them. Besides…"

Sandra turned towards him, her face free of the veil's fabric.

There was no mistaking it.

Even though the eyes and hair were the wrong colour; black instead of their usual emerald and auburn there was still no mistaking who Sandra really was.

Sakura Kinomoto smirked.

"I think I know where they're going to take her."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

CLIFFHANGER!!! SAKURA IS EVIL!!! OR IS SHE?!? YOU JUST HAVE TO FIND OUT

Next chapter:

With Uri Rakura in the hands of the Angels, the Cobra Mark Assassins are forced to make a deal: the chips for Uri however what's a little betrayal between enemies? As more is uncovered about Sakura's new position as an assassin, more shocks and twists will be revealed in the stunning… _Double doublecrossed_

A/Notes: Sorry about the wait but I was waiting for more reviews… I swear this time if there isn't 20 more new reviews I will not be updating!!! I mean it so please for the love of god and innocent puppies (you don't want to harm the puppies' feelings do you?) please review.

Okay, it's time to explain why I took so long in updating this story before, the long hiatus was because I was in my final year of high school and the homework and exams and everything just took up too much time plus I already wrote some chapters of this story but realised later on most of it was copied off 'Alias' the show. Originally Sakura was going to just randomly wake up somewhere make it back to her friends and realise they think she was dead and everything but like I said this was a direct rip-off off Alias's second season finale so I completely changed it. Hope this is just as exciting!!!


	12. Double doublecrossed

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Disclaimer: blah, blah, blah insert disclaimer

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 11: Double doublecrossed**

"Good morning precious," Tomoyo drawled.

Uri looked up, blinking blearily.

"Wha…" she slurred out, trying to clear her vision.

"I hoped you enjoyed your flight," Tomoyo continued lightly, "We are now in the U.S. of A and you're are now officially under arrest, pending trial… bitch."

Gritting her teeth, Uri still manages a ghostly smile.

"Aren't you going to read me my rights? Isn't that what you goody good shoes do?" she managed to rasp out, "I want my lawyer!"

"And I want a skinny latte with cream and cocoa powder on top," Tomoyo snapped back, "But hey. We live with what we've got."

"And you've had to live with a very flat chest," Uri taunted, her voice still slurred.

"Oooo… your words slash me," Tomoyo smirked, "But correct me if I'm wrong, a helpless woman tied to a chair is hardly intimidating."

"Untie me then we'll see who's intimidating."

"Hmmmm…" Tomoyo paused to think, "No."

Uri glared at her.

"You think they want come for me? The others are going to come and get me you know," she sneered, "And you can't stop them."

"Oh don't worry," Tomoyo grinned nastily, "We've counting on it."

Michelle appeared in Uri's line of vision, her arm heavily bandaged from her fight with Sandra.

"Tomoyo, stop taunting the helpless captive," Michelle called out, "We need to plan. They're arriving."

Tomoyo shrugged.

"Fine," she turned back to Uri, "Stick around cause this is going to get interesting."

Gagging the assassin, Tomoyo walked off with Michelle. Uri's head slumped down in defeat as the door slammed shut behind them plunging her into darkness.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Nakuru tapped on Touya's window as the CIA agent looked up.

"What?!?" he barked.

Nakuru rolled her eyes at his lack of manners.

"A report just came in," Nakuru told him, "Hijami's place's been raided. The chips are gone."

"They have them?" Touya asked, eyes sharp.

Nakuru shrugged.

"Don't know. They should be reporting in soon."

"Good," Touya nodded, "Have them route the call into my office."

His fellow agent nodded and hurried off as Touya turned back to his paperwork with a sigh.

"Man, the reports going to be huge on this one!" he sighed as he continued to write.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Anthony strode into the cabin of the plane, his dark eyes glistening with malice.

"The pilot says we should be landing soon," he announced.

Verona remained silent as Jonathan nodded. Across from him, Sakura glanced moodily out the window, her dark eyes staring at something only she can see.

"Sandra?" Anthony called out.

"I heard ye boss," Sakura replied, "Soon."

Anthony nodded and took his seat as Jonathan leaned forwards.

"So what's the plan?"

"They'll know we're coming to L.A.," Sakura replied, "They would've already discovered there's a private plan coming direct from the United Emirates. My guess is they will make contact with us at the airport to arrange a ransom."

"You said they knew where they were held," Anthony pointed out.

Sakura nodded.

"I do. I found out during my time amongst them as a spy that they usually keep their captives in a secure safehouse at the outskirts of town…" Sakura trailed off, "But they may shift her somewhere even more secure. There's an underground bunker they use… I'll show you the way."

Anthony nodded satisfied.

"But we still need to get that last chip back," Jonathan reminded them.

"It'll be impossible," Anthony growled, "If their past actions are anything to go by they would've passed the chip on onto the government by now."

"Damn!" Jonathan swore.

Sakura/Sandra shrugged.

"We've still go three of the chips. We can obtain the last one later," Sakura dismissed the idea.

The plane's PA system turned on.

"This is your captain speaking," the pilot announced, "We've preparing to land now."

"It's showtime people," Anthony smirked at his team, "It's time to break some angels."

Verona merely nodded as Jonathan and Sakura returned his evil grin.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Michelle glanced up into the sky. A dark shape, a plane was beginning to descend.

"Game faces people," she told her fellow Angels and Eriol, "The mobs about to arrive."

Meiling nodded coldly, her face still bruised from her fight as the Cobra Mark's plane began to land.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Xiaolang looked up blearily at his clock. With a groan, he rolled over in his unkempt bed knocking an empty scotch bottle onto the ground. It landed with a crash as he swore loudly and clutched his head in pain.

Wearily he sat up, rubbing his temples.

"Morning," he growled to the world.

Slowly crawling out of bed, Xiaolang winced as he stepped on a half empty bottle of Vodka. Growling in frustration, he bent to pick it up.

He froze.

A picture of Sakura, her emerald eyes dancing with joy was staring up at him. For the longest time, he just knelt there, his dark feverish eyes staring at the photo of his beloved Sakura.

"I'm sorry," he croaked, tears spilling down his empty face.

He straightened suddenly, tearing his eyes away from the photo as he ripped the cap away from the vodka bottle and bought it to his lips.

Still weeping he began to drink himself into numbness.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Anthony climbed down the stairs of the plane, his dark eyes roving the runway of the small airport they had landed at. A cruel smile lit up his handsome face as he spotted someone standing beside a car a few metres away.

"Looks like the gang's all here," Jonathan smirked.

"Looks like," Anthony sneered.

Sandra/Sakura merely rearranged her yellow veil to hide her face better as she climbed down the stairs, Verona's towering form bringing up the rear.

"Anthony Collins," Michelle Hutton called out.

"Angel," Anthony drawled as he closed the gap between them.

"Stop right there," Eriol slid out from the car, his eyes cold as the barrel of his gun locked onto Anthony's chest.

Jonathan immediately brought up his gun but Anthony waved him down.

"Relax, Jonathan. These good people just want to talk."

"We wants the chips and you want Uri," Michelle began without preamble, "We trade. Tonight. Eleven o'clock. At the docking port, Lot 316."

She turned to leave.

"How do we know she's even alive?" Anthony demanded.

Michelle turned back with a cold grin.

"Guess you'll have to just trust us," she smirked.

The Cobra Mark agents just stood there and watched as Eriol and Michelle climbed back into their car and drove off.

Anthony cleared his throat.

"I want to raid them. Now."

"Sure thing boss," Sakura smirked, "I'll show the way."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Touya's phone began to ring as he started. Smiling, Touya grabbed the phone.

'_How are the roses?'_

"Flamboyantly red," Touya supplied the answer to the pre-arranged secret question.

Now their double agent knew it was safe to speak.

'_Three of the chips are in our possession,'_ the man told him, '_The Angels get the fourth and Sakura thinks they would've passed them onto the proper authorities by now.'_

"They have," Touya replied, "I just got the memo."

'_Good. We've in L.A. now.'_

"WHAT?!?"

'_Uri's been captured by the Angels and they want a trade off at Lot 316 at the Docking Port tonight at Twenty-Three Hundred,' _the double agent told him quickly, '_What's the plan?'_

Touya bit his lip, a myriad of possibilities flying through his head.

"Make sure the deal goes bad," Touya commanded him, "Make sure the Angels end up with the chips and Uri. It makes our job a lot easier. But whatever happens make sure Anthony gets away, we need him… remember that."

'_Affirmed,' _the man replied, '_I better go.'_

"Be careful."

'_I will.'_

The line went dead as Touya sighed and leaned back into his chair.

"You better know what you're doing," Touya muttered, "Otherwise this can go a hundred ways to hell in a blink of an eye."

With a sigh, Touya called up his superiors to inform them of the situation at hand.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Jonathan hung up his phone and sighed.

"What's the plan?" Sakura told him quietly, her dark eyes roaming the small airport lobby.

Anthony and Verona was off arranging transport giving them time to contact their true bosses.

"Make sure the deal goes bad. We need the Angels to end up with the chips and Uri."

Sakura smirked.

"Shouldn't be a problem," she smiled.

"But the raids…" Jonathan began.

Sakura snorted.

"Please, they haven't used those places in ages," Sakura smiled calmly, "Don't worry. We can do this."

Jonathan nodded as Sakura smiled warmly at him. Anthony appeared at the door.

"Let's go," he commanded.

The smile swiftly left Sakura's face as her dark eyes hardened in soulless obsidian chips. A malicious smile danced across Jonathan's lips as the two of them nodded.

"Lets," Sakura agreed.

With that the two of them trailed after their enemy.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"Oh god what happened to you!!?"

Meiling smiled wryly.

"Verona," she said simply.

Marcus looked at her worriedly as Meiling slid herself onto their couch, sighing with relief.

"Lily!" Marcus called out to their daughter, "Get some ice!"

"Is it for mommy?" their eight-year-old daughter called back.

"Yes!"

"You don't have to…" Meiling began weakly but Marcus cut her off.

"Stop trying to be superwoman," he scolded lightly.

He paused.

"Besides you look like someone just beat you over the head with an iron club."

"Surprisingly accurate description," Meiling sighed.

Lily bounced out of their kitchen clutching a bag of ice in her hand. She froze as she saw her mother's face.

"Mommy!" she shrieked, "Are your all right?"

"I'm fine Lily," Meiling told her reassuringly, "Just a few scratches and bruises."

"A few?" Marcus muttered so that only she could hear.

Meiling shot her a warning glare as Lily passed the ice to her. Sighing with relief, she rubbed the ice over her bruises soothing the throbbing pain.

"What happened?" Lily asked worriedly.

"A fight," Meiling told her shortly, "I lost."

"You lost?" Lily seemed shocked, "But you never do!"

"Unfortunately this time I did," Meiling sighed.

"What happen…" Lily began.

"Lily, don't you have some homework to do?" Marcus chided lightly.

Lily gave a very adult-sigh as she reluctantly walked back to the kitchen where her homework was spread out on the counter. Meiling winced as she touched a particularly livid bruise.

Marcus immediately took the ice pack off her and began gently massaging it into her skin.

"That feels wonderful…" Meiling purred.

"You know what else feels wonderful?" Marcus grinned.

Meiling smirked at him.

"You do realise our daughter is only a few metres away right?"

"We can close the door," Marcus countered playfully.

"Perv."

"And that's why you're marrying me."

Meiling snorted.

"Dream on," she huffed, "The only reason I'm marrying you is because of the money."

"Ah!" Marcus clutched his chest in mock pain, "She slashes me with the truth!"

"Idiot," Meiling muttered but she quickly dropped the playful act as she kissed him straight on the lips, "You're wonderful you know that?"

"And you're not so bad yourself," Marcus smirked back.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"So where is she?" Syaoran asked, his voice sounded hoarse and slurred.

"She's in a safe place," Michelle reassured her boss through the cream-coloured speaker box.

"They are going to try and backstab you," Syaoran pointed out.

"We know," Tomoyo told him, "But don't worry we've got a plan."

"Just be careful," Syaoran told them, "Cobra Mark is not to be trusted."

"Don't worry, we've got it," Eriol replied.

"Okay. Be careful. Goodbye Angels."

"Goodbye Syaoran!" Tomoyo and Michelle chorused as the speaker box went dead.

Eriol sighed.

"He always forgets me," he huffed.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"Come on pouty-boy," she stood up, "We've got a bunch of backstabbing assassins to prepare for."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The door blasted open, destroyed by a swift vicious kick. Sakura stepped into the room and cursed loudly.

"What is it?" Anthony demanded.

Sandra/Sakura turned back to him, her face obscured by a sheer length of yellow veil.

"It's empty," she growled, "God damn it!"

Anthony stepped into the room and scowled seeing the thick layer of dust that covered everything.

"You said you knew!" Anthony accused.

Sandra shrugged.

"They must've changed the location," Sandra muttered, "Don't worry we'll get them tonight."

"I was hoping to avoid a… confrontation," Anthony pointed out.

Sandra sniggered.

"Worried we can't take three little Angels and one useless ex-assassin by ourselves?" she smirked.

"Hardly," Anthony sniffed.

He pulled out his mobile phone and punched in a series of numbers.

"Jonathan," he commanded, "Report."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Jonathan stood in a giant empty warehouse, Verona by his side.

"It's empty. I think they've abandoned this place," Jonathan reported.

Anthony cursed loudly.

'_We'll regroup and get ready for tonight. Come back here now.' _

"Sure thing boss," Jonathan hung up and turned to his silent companion, "Let's move."

Verona nodded silently and walked off as Jonathan brought up the rear, a smile drifting across his lips.

It seemed like everything was going to plan.

Now all he and Sakura had to do was make sure the bad guys lose… again.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"I'm bored!" Uri called out defiantly, "Entertain me!"

The door swung open as Michelle stepped into the room.

"Enjoying your stay?" she asked sweetly.

"Your room service sucks," Uri spat back.

Michelle shrugged casually.

"You get what you paid for."

Uri's pink eyes drilled into Michelle's baby blue ones as the assassin sized the newest Angel up.

"You know what gets me is why on earth would they hire someone like you," Uri began thoughtfully.

"A former con artist and professional thief does have her uses," Michelle sneered back, "But please continue your pathetic 'shake my self-esteem' scheme."

Uri merely sniggered.

"Oh, I'm sure you're good at what you do but you'll never compare," Uri hissed, "The one before you? The Angel you were hired to replace? Now she was a legend. Sakura Kinomoto. I've fought against her and seen her fight. Now she was good. She went up against biggest of the bad guys without even blinking. She had style, she had flair…"

"That's how she became the nanny?" Michelle scowled.

Uri laughed.

"You've got sass," she noted, "But that's still not enough… for them."

Michelle blinked.

"I've seen the way they've looked at you. Meiling. Tomoyo. And you know what they see?"

Uri leaned forwards as best as she could in her bonds, her voice was a venomous whisper.

"They see a pale reflection of who they want. A wannabe. A reject."

Michelle stood there staring at her as Uri smirked up at her stunned pale face.

"Shut. Up," Michelle growled in a low trembling voice.

"You know I'm right," Uri cooed.

Michelle looked away breaking the stare. Without a word, she turned around and stalked out the door.

Uri's malicious laughter floated out after her until she slammed the door shut with trembling hands but Uri's laughter echoed all around her, mocking her.

Michelle slowly turned away and walked off haltingly.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Nakuru turned around and froze, bristling at Dan Williams' smug face.

"What?" she grounded out.

"Looking for someone?" Dan smirked, "I saw you poking around."

The ruby-eyed CIA agent idly wondered what it would feel like to poke his eyes out with her manicured fingers but decided against it not looking forward to cleaning out all that muck from under her finger nails… plus it was illegal… sort of.

"Where's Touya?" she asked instead tightly.

"He's with the head honchos," Dan replied, his voice sneering.

"Oh, you mean with your dad?" Nakuru asked, all innocence and batting eyelids, "The one who gave you the job you so don't clearly deserve?"

Dan glared at her as Nakuru smiled back sweetly.

"Oh look! There's Yukito. Excuse me."

Before Dan could even react Nakuru brushed past him, her skin crawling with revulsion as it touched Dan's bare arms. Shivering, she strolled over to Yukito.

"What's up with Touya?" she asked without preamble.

Yukito juggled the files in his hands as he replied.

"Our two double-agents just made contact," Yukito answered quietly, "They're here."

"In this building?" Nakuru was confused.

"L.A.. Seems the Angels went after the chips as well and managed to grab hold of Uri. They want a trade-off with the Cobra Marks who's got three of the chips."

"Damn," Nakuru murmured, "What's the plan?"

Yukito glanced around briefly before gesturing to Nakuru to follow him to his office. Pushing the glass door open, Yukito dumped his files onto the desk before turning to Nakuru.

"Touya wants Sakura and Jonathan to make sure the deal goes bad. We want Uri to stay with the Angels and the chips to go to them as well."

Nakuru whistled lowly.

"Jeez, ambitious much? How on earth are they going to do that without rousing suspicion?"

Yukito shrugged.

"Beats me but trust me those two will come through with the goods."

"So why's Touya upstairs with the superiors."

"Explaining the situation to them."

Nakuru sighed.

"I hope Saku and Jon's got a Plan B," she muttered, "Cos if all this goes to hell they'll need to get out of there and quick."

Yukito nodded.

Nakuru smiled grimly.

"Otherwise they're dead," she finished grimly.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Uri's head snapped up as the door swung open again. This time it was Meiling who stepped in, her eyes blazing.

"It's time," she announced, "Let's go."

Uri smirked.

"Gladly."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

_You know what you have to do_

Sakura stared into the small tarnished mirror, her dark eyes staring back at her.

_You knew this day would come the moment you began all this_

She blinked, her thoughts swirling inside her head.

_So the question is: are you ready? To go that one extra step? You know what is at stake here. You know the price of failure_

Sakura slowly wrapped the yellow veil around her face obscuring her features. She tied it around her hair allowing a few dark black fringes to peak through, a far cry from her normal auburn tresses.

_So are you going to finish what you started? Are you ready?_

Sakura tied the yellow veil off and stared into her reflection, her yellow-veiled dark eyed reflection.

"Am I?" she wondered.

The door swung open and Anthony stood there, dark eyes glittering with anticipation.

"Ready?"

Sandra blinked then slowly nodded.

"I am," she vowed, "Let's go."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The car rumbled into the empty docking bay, its engine unnaturally loud in the dark silence. The engine died as the doors swung open. Anthony climbed out, his crew a step behind him. The four of them scanned the docking lot, trying to see through the darkness.

"Hello," a familiar voice called out.

Suddenly massive lights blazed into life. Anthony staggered backwards, blinded as the huge spotlights burnt through the shadows revealing all. Meiling laughed from her perch on a shipping container nearby, a long unpleasant noise that whispered of danger and death.

"And welcome…" Meiling continued grinning maliciously, "… to the Arena."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Touya glanced nervously up at the clock. Nakuru snorted.

"It's only just eleven. Don't expect a call in until much later," she advised, "Things are just starting up."

"I still don't know why I was denied permission to help them out," Touya growled.

Yukito opened his mouth but Touya cut him off.

"I know, I know," he sighed, "Taking out the Anthony Collins is not good enough… blah blah blah… we want to take down all cells of Cobra Mark and the only way to do that is to allow Sakura and Jonathan to find out where the other cells are through Collins blah blah blah…"

He sighed.

"But that's my kid sister out there!"

"Technically she's not a kid and she did perfectly fine for most of her life without you there," Nakuru pointed out.

Touya glared at her.

"That couldn't be helped," he growled.

"Yeah, I heard the sob story," Nakuru shrugged, "Don't worry Sakura will be fine. She's smart enough by herself and Jonathan's got her back."

"I hope so if anything happens to her," Touya gritted his teeth, "I'm going to take out Anthony Collins myself, orders or no orders."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that," Yukito said calmly.

Silence fell over the three agents as they watched the clock, each second going by with agonising slowness.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Anthony shook his head clearing his vision as Meiling's eyes flittered past him to Verona. She instantly tensed.

"Where's Uri?" Anthony demanded.

"Where are the chips?" Meiling countered.

Anthony reached into the car and pulled out a metal suitcase. He flipped it open revealing the three tiny chips snuggled in the velvet lining inside. He snapped the case shut.

"Where's Uri?" he repeated.

Meiling gestured and from the darkness emerged Tomoyo, a bound and gagged Uri firmly in her grasps.

"So how's this going to go down?" Anthony demanded.

"You give me the chips and we give you Uri. Throw them up here, have butch girl behind you do it," Meiling commanded.

Anthony snorted.

"And then you run off with the chips and Uri?" Anthony barked, "I don't think so."

"Fine," Meiling shrugged, "I know those three chips are useless without the fourth and I'm pretty sure Uri can give us a lot of useful information about Cobra Mark and the Venom Squad."

"That's our name," Anthony sneered, "Don't wear it out."

"You have five seconds to decide. Run off and leave Uri behind or make the trade," Meiling ordered imperiously, "Five… four… three…"

Anthony swore and turned to Verona handing her the case. Verona nodded.

"Two… one," Meiling finished.  
Verona heaved the case at Meiling as the Angel moved forwards to catch it.

"NOW!" Anthony screamed.

Jonathan instantly reacted bringing his submachine gun and firing off a blast of shots. Meiling immediately leapt down from the shipping container, the bullets ripping into the metal where she'd been standing. The case with the chips clattered onto the roof of the container as Meiling landed and instantly ducked behind another container as Jonathan loosened the trigger. The shots died down as Anthony smirked.

"Get the chips!" Anthony commanded to Verona.

He turned to Sandra/Sakura.

"Get Uri!"

Sandra and Verona immediately charged off as Anthony turned to Jonathan. But before he could even speak a hail of bullets ripped into their car tearing furrows into the hood. Anthony and Jonathan stared at each other for a second before racing away from the smoking car.

It immediately exploded, a mushroom cloud of fire clawing up into the sky as Anthony and Jonathan hit the ground. Jonathan immediately leapt up, gun at the ready. Eriol standing beside a giant crane, smirked down at him, his own gun clutched in his hands.

"Hey there, stranger," he called out.

"GET HIM!" Anthony roared.

Jonathan raced towards Eriol, gun blazing as the former assassin leapt down into the shadows, the shots missing him. The two gunmen stalked each other in the labyrinth of tiny alleyways formed by the shipping containers as Anthony gritted his teeth.

"Awww… all alone?"

Anthony whirled around only to be punched straight in the face. Michelle smirked down at him.

"Wanna fight?"

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Meiling straightened in time to see Verona stampeding straight at her. The Asian Angel grinned and flipped onto her feet as Verona slowed and stopped.

"Come on," Meiling held out her hand twitching her fingers daring the Russian Venom Squad member to attack her, "Let's go."

Verona leapt forwards to the attack as Meiling flung herself into the fight.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Tomoyo shoved the helpless Uri aside as Sandra leapt up snagging onto the handle of the shipping container before flipping herself up onto the roof. Angel and Venom Squad assassin faced off against each other.

"Hello Sandra, fancy meeting you here," Tomoyo grinned.

"Yes, what a surprise," Sandra's fist flashed through the air smacking Tomoyo in the face.

Tomoyo instantly lashed out backhanding Sandra.

"That was a freebie," Tomoyo growled.

"Awww… wanna kiss and make up?" Sandra sneered.

Tomoyo head-butted Sandra in the face.

"How's that for a kiss?"

Sandra slowly straightened.

"Not bad. But you have to do better than that if you want to keep a boyfriend!" Sandra kicked out at Tomoyo but Tomoyo sidestepped the blow.

The two women slammed into each other, fists flailing. Sandra's punch missed as Tomoyo arched backwards aiming a haymaker at Sandra. The assassin twisted out of the way, grabbing on Tomoyo's arm and flipping her over and onto her back. Tomoyo slammed into the ground, winded as Sandra leapt up trying to land an aerial elbow onto the Angel.

Tomoyo lashed out kicking Sandra away before flipping back onto her feet before meeting Sandra's next attack, grabbing onto her and flinging her into a nearby shipping container. Sandra bounced off the wall and landed clumsily. Tomoyo swept in, power-punching Sandra in the gut as she tried to rise.

Sandra hit the ground again as Tomoyo calmly stalked towards her.

"It's over," she hissed.

"No it's not."

Sandra scissor kicked Tomoyo's legs and sent her tumbling down.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Meiling crashed into a shipping container as Verona charged forwards. Neatly Meiling flipped over the Russian's head landing a kick that knocked Verona into the metal door. Landing, Meiling unleashed a combo of punches and kicks landing a good dozen blows.

She backed off, gasping for breath.

Verona merely turned around, popping her knuckles.

"Oh god," Meiling whispered.

A brutal punch sent Meiling sliding backwards as her chest erupted with pain. She gasped in shock and agony. Verona strolled forwards, muscular arms swinging as Meiling fired off a punch. Verona calmly caught the fist in one iron-hard hand and twisted her arm, Meiling screamed in pain as Verona blasted her backwards with a kick to the chest.

Meiling hit the ground, writhing in pain, clutching her arm as she fought for breath from her battered lungs.

"God damn it," she slowly crawled to her feet only to have Verona grab her back the neck and hurl her straight into a container.

Meiling crashed into the steel structure and slowly slumped to the ground, fighting for consciousness.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Anthony blocked one of Michelle's punches and kicked her brutally in the gut. Michelle gasped with pain, keeling clutching her stomach as Anthony aimed an elbow to her neck knocking her down.

"Oh come on! I'm the boss and they get me to fight the amateur?" Anthony shook his head in disgust, "No respect that's the problem."

"SHUT UP!"

Michelle let out a cry of rage and flipped onto her feet landing a devastating blow to Anthony's face. The man stumbled backwards reeling as Michelle pressed forwards battering him with hammering kicks and punches.

Anthony grabbed onto her wrist halting a punch before dragging her towards him using his superior strength to his advantage.

"Loser," Anthony flung her away.

Michelle hit the ground hard as Anthony calmly walked towards her chuckling unpleasantly under his breath. Michelle slowly crawled to her feet and shifted into a battle stance, trembling with rage and pain.

Anthony charged at her but Michelle spun out of his way, her fists crashing into him with deadly force. Anthony hit the ground as Michelle immediately jumped onto of him, pinning him down as she unleashed her fury into his face, punching him over and over again.

"WHO'S THE LOSER NOW!?!" she screamed furiously.

With a brutal yell, she grabbed the collar of his shirt raising his battered face up and punched him one last painful time. She hurled his head backwards, his skull cracking across the ground as Michelle stood up, fists bloody.

She spat on the unconscious Anthony and turned around. Meiling was trying to crawl away from Verona, her eyes wide and panicked as the Russian woman stalked forwards. Gritting her teeth, Michelle charged forwards with a yell, launching herself into the air.

Verona staggered as Michelle leapt onto her back, wrapping her arm around the woman's neck and wrenching her throat in a painful chokehold. Verona immediately began to flail around, muscular arms swinging as she tried to throw Michelle off.

"Get the chips!!!" Michelle screamed as Meiling.

Verona swung around and threw herself backwards, slamming Michelle against the hard wall of a shipping container.

"GO!" Michelle screamed desperately.

Still slightly disorientated, Meiling crawled to her feet and nodded. She took off, raven-black hair flying behind her as Michelle tightened her grip.

Verona gave a strangled cry and flung her elbow backwards, crushing Michelle's sides.

Pain roared through the blonde Angel as she struggled to hold on.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Sandra chuckled nastily as she grabbed Tomoyo by the throat and sniggered right in her face.

"Man, you Angels are pathetic," she sneered.

Tomoyo tried to swing at her but Sandra grabbed her arm and wrenched it painfully to Tomoyo's side.

"Wanna go down?"

Sandra/Sakura stepped towards the edge of the container and hurled Tomoyo down into the darkness. Laughing she jumped down after the falling Angel.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Tomoyo landed awkwardly slamming down onto her knees as she let out a cry of pain. But before she could recover, Sandra was on her, lashing out with fist and foot. Tomoyo gritted her teeth and managed to slam her fist into Sandra's chest knocking her backwards before rolling backwards onto her feet.

With a cry, she leapt forwards cracking Sandra in the face with a high jumping spinning kick. Sandra hit the ground as Tomoyo surged forwards.

"This. Is. What. You. Get. For. Being. A. BITCH!!!" Tomoyo screamed finishing each word with a hefty punch to the assassin's face and chest.

Sandra stumbled backwards as Tomoyo's hand shot out latching onto her veil. The assassin's eyes widened in shock as Tomoyo yanked it away, hissing with triumph.

"Finally! Now I get to see who you really ar…" Tomoyo trailed off, stunned as Sandra straightened.

The Japanese Angel gaped at her, seeing her face for the first time.

"Sakura… how…" she gasped, jaws gaping.

Sakura's face was shocked for a second but it quickly hardened.

"I'm sorry," she said calmly.

Before Tomoyo could react, Sakura leapt forwards slamming into her and tackling her to the ground. Pinning the woman down between her legs, Sakura punched Tomoyo in the face, dazing her, before jamming her left hand into the Angel's face.

"Forget," she said calmly.

Tomoyo cried out as gold light suddenly flared from Sakura's hand and washed over her face. The light slowly faded as Tomoyo blinked, her eyes blank and unfocused. Sakura leapt off her and hastily tied her veil back on as Tomoyo shook her head, her eyes going back to normal.

She rose and glared at Sandra.

"That's it. I don't know who you are behind that freaky veil but you're going down!" she snarled.

She leapt at Sandra but the Cobar Mark assassin grabbed her arms and hurled her away throwing her around the corner of a shipping container.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Eriol blinked in shock.

"TOMOYO!"

His girlfriend flew around the corner, brutally bouncing off a wall before hitting the ground painfully, her head cracking against the concrete knocking her out cold instantly. Eriol charged forwards, trying to help her but Jonathan immediately rounded the corner behind him, gun at the ready.

"I don't think so," the Venom Squad member snarled, the barrel of his gun aimed straight at Tomoyo, "Drop the weapon."

Eriol's eyes flickered from Tomoyo to Jonathan, wavering.

"Come on boys," Sandra appeared from around the corner of the container to right beside Tomoyo, "Don't play with guns now."

With a lightning fast speed, she grabbed her whip from its position on her hips and lashed outwards. Eriol's gun was jerked out of his hands as Sandra sniggered.

"Two against one," she purred, "However are we going to win?"

Jonathan stalked forwards as Eriol took a shaky step backwards, his eyes darting from Sandra to Jonathan.

Tomoyo groaned and began to stir.

"Lets wrap this up quickly," Sandra called out, "My shows on tonight."

Sniggering Sandra leapt forwards but a pale hand wrapped itself around her foot jerking her back to the ground. Tomoyo glared in her face, lavender eyes furious.

"Forget about me?" she snarled nailing Sandra in the face.

Eriol immediately whipped out a gun from his holster and aimed it Jonathan. The two assassins stared at each other, guns ready. With a laugh, Jonathan hurled his gun away. Eriol quickly let his drop.

"Ready?" Jonathan smirked.

"When you are," Eriol replied tersely.

The two men flew at each other, punching and kicking as Sandra and Tomoyo fought their own private battle, just metres away from them.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Michelle crashed to the crowd gasping in pain as Verona towered over her, ivory mask gleaming in the pale moonlight. Gritting her teeth, Michelle tired to leg-sweep the taller woman but she screamed in pain as her leg crashed into Verona's muscular limb. It was like hitting a steel column.

Slowly limping to her feet, Michelle raised her fists.

"Come on," she gasped, "Let's go, you steroid eating bitch."

Verona surged forwards as Michelle pirouetted out of the way, her lithe figure moving between Verona's fists. Michelle's legs smack into Verona's side staggering the woman.

"Hey!"

Verona and Michelle whirled around. Meiling smirked at them, suitcase in hand.

"Is this a personal game or can I join in?"

Michelle smiled as Meiling leapt into the fray. The two Angels double-teaming the blonde Russian woman. Michelle rabbit-punched Verona in the stomach with ferocious force as Meiling snapped a double-kick straight in her masked face.

Verona staggered, disorientated from the blows as with a triumphant yell, Meiling swung the metal suitcase down.

"CRACK!"

The metal edge tore into the back of Verona's head, blood spilling to the ground as Meiling and Michelle both glanced at each other.

With a cry, the two power-kicked Verona straight in the chest. The Russian woman flew backs and banged noisily into a shipping container before slumping down to the ground.

Meiling blinked in surprise.

She had finally did it.

She had beaten Verona.

"HELL YEAH!" she yelled pumping her fists, suitcase still in hand, "TAKE THAT!"

"Meiling!" Michelle snapped, cutting through her joy.

Meiling froze as the sound of fighting reached their ears.

"Lets go!" she cried darting off towards the other side of the shipping yard.

They were going to take down the Venom Squad once and for all.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Sandra kicked off the side of the container and landed a spinning kick in mid-air knocking Tomoyo down. Eriol hit the ground as Jonathan landed a powerful uppercut snapping his head back.

"SWITCH!" Sandra yelled at her teammate.

Jonathan bent at the waist as Sandra charged towards him, flipping over his back and ploughing into Eriol who was just rising straight in the chest with a double-kick. Tomoyo lunged at them but Jonathan swatted her out of the air with a punch as Sandra landed facing off against Eriol who was blinking at her dazedly.

"Night night sugar," Sandra drawled.

She feinted to the left as Eriol tried to block her but a lightning fast hook drove him backwards. With a cry, Sandra fell on him firing off punishing blows. Eriol tried valiantly to fight back but he was overpowered and out-paced. The former assassin quickly crashed to the ground, out cold, as Sandra towered over him triumphant.

"Lets grab Uri!" Sandra called to Jonathan.

Jonathan shoved Tomoyo backwards, her head cracking against a container wall as he darted off.

"HEY!"

Meiling and Michelle were right behind them.

"I guess this is the part where we surrender and give them Uri, right?" Jonathan whispered, "Just like Touya wanted?"

"Not really," Sandra murmured back tersely as they rounded a corner.

"Right, we need to get Anthony away from here," Jonathan bit his lip, "That's going to be tough."

Sandra smirked at him.

"Sorry, Jon," she hissed, "There's been a change of plans."

Jonathan could only gape at her in surprise as Sandra grabbed him and shoved him straight towards the incoming Angels.

Meiling blasted a punch into his face, knocking him out as Sandra smirked. She leapt up managing to snag the edge of a container before flipping up to the top. Uri glared at her, bound and gagged as she was, as Sandra sashayed over towards her.

"Hey, Uri. What's a girl like you doing all tied up?" she smirked as she knelt down beside her teammate.

Pulling out a switchblade, Sandra made quick work of the ropes. Uri tugged the bounds off her as she stood up, massaging her wrists. Her gag was quickly pulled away.

"Took you guys long enough," she growled.

"Well, you know. Pesky Angels and all that," Sandra smirked.

"Well, I think they're coming this way."

Sure enough, Meiling and Michelle soon appeared over the edge of the container, their eyes burning with rage.

"I'm so going to enjoy kicking your asses," Meiling spat.

"Well, I have three words for you then," Sandra smirked, "Bring it… bitch."

Meiling and Michelle leapt at her but Sandra was quicker reaching into the folds of clothing. Smirking she pulled out something and yanked out the pin, hurling it straight at the Angels.

It hit the ground just near their feet and promptly exploded, unleashing a blast of white light and thundering shockwaves. Both Angels were propelled off their feet and sent flying off the container roof as Sandra gave a mock wave.

"Angels go bye bye," she taunted.

"What was that?!?" Uri demanded.

"Concussive bomb," Sandra told her casually, "Unleashes a shockwave that incapacitates the enemy."

She reached the edge of the container and hopped off, landing on the ground below. Meiling and Michelle were sprawled out unconscious on the hard floor. Sandra plucked the suitcase with the chips from Meiling's grips and turned to Uri, smiling.

"Ready to go home?" Sandra asked.

"Shouldn't we finish them off?" Uri gestured towards their knocked out foes.

Sandra opened her mouth to speak but stopped as the sound of sirens filled the airs.

"No time. Cops are here," she hissed, "Let's move!"

Darting off, the two assassins melted into the shadows.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

"How do you think they went?" Nakuru asked.

Touya chewed his lips.

"They're fine," he replied, half-trying to convince himself, "I'm sure they're doing just fine."

Tomoyo's eyes fluttered open as she let out a low moan of pain. The whole of her head was throbbing.

"Here," someone handed her an ice pack.

Gratefully, she clapped it to the back of her head and sat up. She was lying on a pallet in a tastefully decorated room, her teammates arranged beside her. Her lavender eyes widened.

"ERIOL!" she gasped, scrambling to get to him.

Strong arms held her back.

"She's fine."

Tomoyo glanced at the person and blinked in surprise.

"Xiaolang!" she murmured, "How… what?"

Tomoyo studied his face. He was dishevelled and dirtied, his clothing wrinkled and smelling of stale alcohol as it soon often did these days. He smiled, an image of the old Xiaolang flashing in his eyes briefly. Judging by the state of his hair, Tomoyo judged he hadn't showered for days.

"Guess I'm still good for something," he joked, a ghostly smile on his face, "Syaoran got me to check on the police radio frequencies in case something went wrong. When I heard they were dispatched to the shipping yard, I headed out and found you guys knocked out. I bundled you into my car and brought you here. It's a new safehouse Syaoran set up…"

He trailed off.

"What happened?"

Tomoyo sighed.

"The Venom Squad. Eriol and I ended up fighting Sandra and Jonathan. We lost," she finished flatly, "Uri? The chips?"

Xiaolang shook his head.

"Gone."

"DAMN IT!" Tomoyo hissed, "Every time!"

"I know. The Venom Squad are strong…. Stronger than you four…" Xiaolang suddenly stopped, a sorrowful look crossing his face.

"What?" Tomoyo asked concerned.

Xiaolang tried to wave it off but Tomoyo fixed his eyes with hers, compelling him to speak. Xiaolang sighed.

"It's nothing," he murmured, "It's just that… I can't help but think if Sakura was here…"

"We would be able to defeat them," Tomoyo finished quietly, "I know. Sometimes in the heat of battle, I glance around and I'm thinking 'Where's Sakura? She should be able to handle these guys'… but she's not there. And she's not going to be… ever."

A tear rolled down Xiaolang's dirt-streaked face as the two friends sat in silence, lost in grief.

"It's not fair really," Tomoyo murmured, breaking the silence, "I mean Michelle is good. She's a good Angel and a good friend but…"

"She's no Sakura," Xiaolang whispered.

"I know it's horrible for me to think that. To compare the two and judge her…"

"But you can't help it."

Tomoyo nodded sadly as Xiaolang put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She smiled, comforted unaware that only a metre away, tears were rolling down Michelle's face.

She was awake and she heard every word.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Touya swore loudly and slammed his fist against his desk.

"What happened?" Yukito demanded.

Touya slammed his phone down, hanging up.

"That was our contact within the cops. They were dispatched to the shipping yard where there was reported gunfire. They reached the scene and there was nobody there."

"What?" Nakuru asked startled.

"There was a burning car and some obvious signs of a fight but no one was there," Touya bit his lip, "I don't like the look of this."

"Relax, so the Angels and the Venom Squad got away. Big deal. Jon and Saku probably still succeeded," Nakuru told him blithely, "Just you wait and see."

Touya was still unsure.

"If you say so…"

Nakuru smiled confidently.

"I know so," she said firmly, "Those two can handle anything."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Sakura gently dabbed Anthony's bloodied face with a towel, wiping away the blood as Uri tended to Verona just a few metres away. Jonathan was up, stalking around the room, a thunderous look on his face.

"I'm going to get some more bandages," Uri announced standing up.

She quickly left the room as Jonathan whirled on Sakura.

"We need to talk," he hissed grabbing onto her arm.

Sakura went willingly as Jonathan pulled her out of their dank little motel room. Jonathan literally dragged her up the small flight of stairs leading towards the roof as Sakura remained silent.

They reached the door and Jonathan kicked it open, dragging her out onto the gusty dark roof.

"What the hell was that?!?" he bellowed as the door slammed closed behind them.

"What was what?" Sakura demanded.

"That?! You threw me right at the Angels and then you rescue Uri and take the chips?!?" Jonathan growled, "Didn't you get the mission memo?!? We were supposed to give both of them up."

Sakura shrugged.

"I screwed up. Sorry."

"Yeah, you screwed up. You screwed up big time!" Jonathan howled at her, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!?"

Sakura strolled to the edge of the roof and glanced down remaining silent. The motel was two storeys tall and below lay an alleyway.

"SAKURA!" Jonathan screamed, "Answer me!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side, her back still towards her fellow double agent.

"You know, I don't like the tone of your voice," she said quietly.

"Well, sorry!" Jonathan chewed out sarcastically, "But you did screw up the mission and give our enemies Uri _and _the chips! And I want an explanation. Now! So I can explain to Touya what the hell just happened!"

Sakura was silent for the longest time. Growling in frustration, Jonathan grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"Well?"

Sakura finally spoke, her back still facing him.

"Who said they are our enemies?" she said quietly.

Jonathan frowned.

"Wha…"

He never got the chance to finish the sentence. Whirling around, Sakura's hand snapped out plunging the switchblade deep into his stomach. Jonathan stared at her, eyes bulging as Sakura stared calmly into his face, blood seeping out from the deep wound, staining her fingers.

"Sakura…" Jonathan coughed out weakly, blood dribbling from his mouth, "Wha… why?"

Sandra smiled coldly.

"Sorry, Sakura doesn't live here anymore," she twisted the blade digging it deeper, "The name's Sandra."

With a yell, she grabbed him and hurled him around sending him flying off the edge of the roof. Jonathan screamed as Sakura watched calmly, watching as his body clipped the edge of a fire escape stair before plummeting to the alleyway below. His body crashed into a pile of garbage bags. They instantly burst on impact covering his broken body with filth.

The roof door swung open as Anthony Collins stepped out, clapping his hands.

"Nice, Sandra," he complimented, "Very nice."

Uri appeared beside him.

"So is the little two-timing traitor gone?" she asked gleefully.

Sandra carefully flipped the blade shut.

"It's been taken care off," she said calmly.

Brushing past them, she marched down the stairs as Anthony and Uri watched her go.

"I gotta admit getting a former Angel on our side was just plain genius," Uri smirked.

Anthony laughed.

"I know," he crowed, "Thank god Garret Huss does great work."

Smiling at each other, the two Venom Squad members followed their partner back into their room leaving Jonathan to die in the alleyway below.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

The phone rang as Touya instantly picked it up.

_'How are the roses?' _Sakura asked calmly, her voice coming over the phone.

"Flamboyantly red," Touya breathed a deep sigh of relief, "What happened?"

_'The mission went bust,'_ Sakura told him grimly, _'We tried to play it out like you said but Verona just overpowered the Angels too quickly and Anthony was watching us like a hawk… we had to give him the chips and Uri.' _

"DAMN IT!" Touya hissed.

_'I'm sorry.' _

"Doesn't matter," Touya sighed, "This is going to take some explaining to my superiors."

_'We'll try to sneak the chips away if we can,' _Sakura promised.

Touya smiled.

"Okay but be careful sis."

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Sandra/Sakura adjusted the phone putting it more comfortably to her ear.

_'Okay but be careful sis.' _

"I will," Sandra stopped, "But I'm afraid we have a problem. Jon and I think Anthony's onto us. We can't make contact for a while… it's too suspicious. So if you hear nothing, don't worry, we'll trying to get back to you as soon as possible."

_'Anthony is onto you? Maybe you should…'_

"No. I've sacrificed too much to give up now," Sandra replied, her voice quiet and determined, "I think Anthony's coming. I better go."

_'Okay. Take care.' _

"I will."

Sandra hung up and stared off blankly, her hands in her lap. Slowly she raised her bloodied trembling hands up to her eyes and stared at them.

"I need to wash these," she murmured.

Quickly she stood up and darted off. Soon the sound of running water filled the air as Sakura tried to wash away the blood and her guilt.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**

Oooo… the mystery deepens… why is Sakura evil? Just wait and see!!!

Next chapter: 

As an old friend returns to L.A., magic once again explodes into the lives of the Angels and their allies as an old enemy emerges. An ancient artefact soon becomes the centre of a major battle as the Angels delve deeper into the mystery that is Clow Reed and his legacy… find out what happens next in… _Welcome to Magic land _

A/Notes: I know a lot of your want the girls to get their magic back but I like to keep them magic-less for the moment but don't worry the cards and magic will be back and with a vengeance…


	13. Welcome to Magic Land

**First off, I'm really, really sorry about not updating. It's been like a year and half since the last update but life has gotten really crazy. I'm currently studying medicine at univerity so the workload i.e. homework/study/work is crazy and I'm forced to put a lot of my life outside school off in order to make sure I pass so I'm really sorry. To make up for all your continued support, I've posted up 4 CHAPTERS!! These took me ages to write but I'm going to try as best as I can to continue writing. Please hang in there! Just as a note of interest chapter 14 is by far the most hardest chapter I"ve ever written, it's a lot different to everthing else i've ever done so I hope you can appreciate the difficulty I encountered. But please enjoy these chapters and hopefully the others ones won't take so long in in being posted up**

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 12: Welcome to Magic Land**

Michelle pounded the punching bag with her fist putting all of her strength behind the blow. Jumping back she whipped around, spin kick the bag with brutal force. As she trained, darting backwards and forwards, fists and feet flashing out with deadly force, the same words echoed in her head in an endless tormenting loop.

Uri.

_'They see a pale reflection of who they want. A wannabe. A reject'_

Anthony.

_'Oh come on! I'm the boss and they get me to fight the amateur?'_

Tomoyo.

_'I can't help but think if Sakura was here…'_

Xiaolang.

_'She's no Sakura'_

Michelle let out a roar of rage and with a final brutal kick she sent the punching bag flailing on its chain. She stood there, gasping for breath, fists clenched.

With a scowl, she spat on the ground and turned away marching out of the room.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sunlight glanced off the steel and glass roof of L.A. International Airport as inside tourists and businessmen alike queued up impatiently, each waiting to be checked by customs and allowed in to the airport proper. At the front of the line, a young customs officer looked up.

"Next!" he called out impatiently.

A tall woman headed to his desk. He held his hand out and the woman quickly dropped the passport inside.

He flipped it open and glanced at the name: Nivaline Sarah Thomas.

"Got anything to declare?" he asked imperiously.

Nivaline shook her head.

"Okay then," he flipped the passport shut and handed it back to its owner, "Have a nice day and enjoy our wonderful city, mam."

Nivaline smiled tightly as she hurried through customs. Jamming her sunglasses back into place, she pulled her hat tighter over her head as she sneaked a nervous glance behind her. Taking a deep breath, she quickly walked out through the gates and headed for the exits, praying that nothing would stop her.

A cold hand suddenly closed around her arm.

"Going somewhere?" an oily voice spat out.

Nivaline instantly reacted.

"GUANG!" she bellowed shoving her hand into the man's face. A burst of white-light stunned the man sending him stumbling backwards as Nivaline ripped her arm free. She dashed off, her hat falling off her head revealing her long mane of blonde hair.

"Oh no you don't," the scrawny pale man snarled, "TORMENTUM!"

People began screaming and backing away from the fight as a burst of livid red light slashed across Nivaline's arm. She screamed in pain as her arm began to convulse wildly. Gritting her teeth, she pointed her other hand at her attacker.

"HUO!" she screamed.

The red light faded as a wave of blue flames gushed across the airport. The man instantly conjured up a barrier of sparkling black light as the flames swept over him, charring the floor.

When the fire faded, he threw the barriers down and instantly raised his hand readying to attack. But Nivaline was gone.

With a snarl of fury, Garrett Huss let out a violent curse.

"Sto… stop right there!" a nervous voice stammered out.

The dark mage turned around and sneered at the group of pale-faced security guards standing before him, their limbs trembling as they tried to point their guns at him.

"Idiots."

And with a burst of bright light, Garrett disappeared.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Bob! Bob!" a frantic voice tore through the musky air as the manager of the motel turned around.

"What?" he snarled angrily.

The young cleaner burst in through his office door, his eyes wide and shocked.

"There's… there's someone in the alleyway!" the cleaner gasped.

"So what?" Bob snarled.

"He's been stabbed!"

"Wha?!" Bob instantly leapt from his chair, "Call the cops and the ambulance! Now!"

Bob tore through his motel before flinging the rust door open stepping out into the alleyway. Gingerly he picked through the rubbish until he saw what the cleaner had seen. A tall man, lying amongst the trash, face pale, torso bloodied.

He leaned a little closer and was shocked to see the man's chest rise ever so slightly. It fell and then rose again.

He was breathing.

"Holy mother of Jesus," Bob swore, "He's alive!!"

Jonathan Blackly laid amongst the filth as Bob towered over him, watching the former Venom Squad member fighting for his life.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling switched off the TV.

"Breakfast. Now," she commanded, her voice brooking no arguments whatsoever.

Lily gave a long-suffering sigh before shuffling off towards the kitchen as Meiling quickly neatened up the room before following her daughter.

"Morning dad," the eight-year-old girl chirped as she hopped onto a stool at the kitchen island.

"Morning sweetheart," Marcus replied absently as he flipped through the newspaper distractedly.

Lily immediately grabbed the cereal box and began pouring it out into her bowl. Meiling sighed.

"You do know that's full of sugar right?" she asked.

Lily smiled.

"And that's why I love it," she smirked putting a spoonful into her mouth.

Rolling her eyes, Meiling joined them at the table before grabbing a piece of toast and smothering it with butter. Taking a bite, she managed to steal a piece of the paper from her fiancé as she chewed.

"Ding dong!"

The doorbell rung as Marcus and Meiling stared at each other in surprise.

"Who can that be?" Marcus wondered as he stood up, "Isn't it a bit too early for visitors?"

He strolled out of the kitchen as Lily smiled up sweetly at her mother. Meiling arced an eyebrow, waiting.

"Mommy…" she began carefully.

"If it's about the ears piercing thing ask your father," Meiling smiled back.

Lily huffed.

"But dad's so old fashioned! He'll never let me do it, he keeps telling me to wait til I'm older!" she complained.

"Then maybe you should," Meiling observed calmly as she took a sip of her juice.

Lily opened her mouth to argue but was cut off as Marcus called out to them.

"Umm… Meiling?" he shouted, "There's a visitor for you!"

Frowning, Meiling headed towards the front door. As she saw who it was standing there, she froze.

"Nivaline?!"

Nivaline gingerly pulled back the sleeve of her green shirt and hissed in pain as the bruised skin was finally revealed. Taking an ice pack from Meiling, she rubbed it against her arm, grimacing in pain.

"What did that?" Lily gasped.

Meiling glanced at Marcus, the message clear in her eyes.

"Time for school!" Marcus announced.

Lily leapt up, eyes glittering.

"No way!" she argued, "Come on you can't be serious! I wanna stay and hear what happened!"

"You'll hear it when you come back," Marcus said firmly ushering Lily towards the door, "Now let's go."

Giving his fiancée a quick wave, Marcus bundled Lily out the door as Meiling turned to Nivaline.

"Okay, answer the question," she prodded.

Nivaline sighed.

"It's a long story and I'd rather wait til Tomoyo was here. I don't want to tell it tw…"

"Knock knock!" Tomoyo's cheery voice floated through the house as she stepped in through the door, "I just saw Marcus leave. What's up Meil…"

She appeared in the doorway to the living room and froze seeing who was sitting on the couch.

"Nivaline?! What are you doing here?"

"Gather round 'Moyo," Meiling said dryly, "Cause Auntie Nivaline's got a nice little tale to tell us."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Uri chuckled nastily.

"I wonder how much these babies are worth on the open market?" the blue-hair Venom Squad member wondered studying the three chips closely, "Must make a nice little tidy sum."

Anthony laughed as Sandra merely smiled. The four remaining Cobra Mark assassins were piled into a hired car, heading towards the airport.

"By the way, Sandra," Uri continued, "Nice work. The look on Jonathan's face… it was a Kodak moment."

"I try my best," Sandra smirked.

Anthony smiled at her from the reflection on the rear-view mirror as he turned the corner. Suddenly he slammed on the brakes jolting everyone forwards.

"What the hell?!" Uri barked.

Anthony ignored her as he stared at a slim figure standing in the road right in front of them.

"Oh look at that," Anthony murmured looking out through the windshield, "It's our old friend."

Uri leaned forwards, scowling.

"Great. I wonder what fun he has in store for us now," she muttered sarcastically.

Sandra and Verona remained silent as Garrett Huss strolled towards their car.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline reached into her bag and pulled out a thick leather-bound book. Meiling gasped in recognition.

"Wait, is that?"

"Clow Reed's journal? Yes."

Tomoyo blinked in surprise.

"The one we stole from Huss?"

Nivaline smiled.

"The very same. We and by that I mean, me and the Elders of the Shaolin monks, have finally managed to translated it," Nivaline explained, "It wasn't easy, the journal wasn't written in a language, it was a complex code comprising of mathematical matrix sequences and then a logarithmic…"

She trailed off as Tomoyo and Meiling stared at her, confused.

"Anyway," she continued hurriedly, "We managed to translated it… then we have a problem."

"Problem?"

"Huss," Nivaline said bluntly, "He attacked the temple and tried to snatch the journal for himself but I managed to get away with the journal. It's extremely important that this did not fall into his hands."

"Why? Is it full of dark spells or something?" Tomoyo asked.

Nivaline stared at them for the longest time biting her lips.

"Kinda," she said vaguely.

"Okay… care to clarify?" Meiling demanded.

Nivaline sighed and flipped the journal open.

"When we translated it and we found that almost everything in it is pretty much what we know. How Clow Reed created the cards, them getting lose, him sealing them up again, Heilang's theft and creation of the Void card and the creation of the books and so forth but there was something else…" Nivaline trailed off as she stared down at the journal, deep in thought.

Tomoyo and Meiling glanced at each other, not liking the tone of her voice. Nivaline was silent still staring at the journal. Tomoyo coughed impatiently.

"Sometime else?" Tomoyo questioned, "Something else? Nivaline! Something else?!"

Nivaline looked up, her hazel-green eyes serious.

"Clow Reed referred to something in his diary known as the Word of Four… a set of oblique prophecies he had envisioned in his dreams right before his final battle with the Void card. These prophecies contained a secret so dark and terrible that they were only written down once and then hidden across the world. The journal contained one such prophecy," Nivaline pursed her lips, "Here."

She turned to journal towards the Angels as both of them leaned over, struggling to read the tiny writing scribed along the edges of the book.

"That's the translation of the prophecy hidden in the journal," Nivaline explained.

Meiling began to read them out loud:

_The One will shatter,_

_And the Five will come forth,_

_From their awakening, the Vessel will rise.  
Her wrath will turn the rivers to blood,_

_The earth to ashes,_

_The heavens to hell._

_She will seek the Five,_

_And when rejoined,_

_Reborn and whole_

_The last days of man will come to pass.'_

Meiling looked up at Nivaline, a stunned look on her face.

"What does it mean… the One? The Five? The Vessel? What on earth…"

Nivaline shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know," she confessed quietly, "I don't understand any of it."

"The last days of man will come to pass…" Tomoyo whispered, repeating the last line of the prophecy, she looked at Nivaline, "Does this mean…?"

Nivaline nodded gravely.

"If this prophecy is right, a creature known as the Vessel will rise soon and when that happens…"

She let out a long sigh.

"The world will end."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I need your help," Garrett told them bluntly.

The four Venom Squad members were arrayed around him as they stood in a tiny side street, wearily keeping an eye out for any potential eavesdroppers.

"What's in it for us?" Uri demanded with equal bluntness.

Garrett's eyes glittered dangerously as Anthony hurriedly stepped in.

"What sort of help?" he cut in quickly.

"Something of mine was stolen awhile back and I want it back," Garrett hissed, his dark eyes fixed on Sandra/Sakura.

"What sort of thing?" Uri asked.

Garrett gave her a cold smile.

"A book that was in my collection," he said slyly, "I'm sure Sandra can explain."

Anthony, Uri and Verona turned to Sandra as she blinked slowly.

"When I was working as a mole within the Angels, we did a job in Germany. We stole a journal from Garrett's home," she said carefully, "We gave the journal to someone we knew."

"A journal?!" Anthony barked, "You want us to steal a journal?!"

"When I did that job for you, I did it as a favour," Garrett barked, "Now I want that favour back."

Anthony glared at him but remained silent as Garrett chuckled nastily.

"You think I forgot about that?" he snarled.

"So what's the plan?" Anthony snapped back.

"Easy," Garrett smirked, "We're going to launch a full out attack."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle stepped out of the gym, her bag hanging loosely from her shoulder. The Californian sun burnished her blonde hair to a fiery gold as she wiped her sweaty face with her towel one last time before jamming it into her bag.  
Suddenly her phone went off.

Frowning she reached into her pocket, pulled it out and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

'Michelle?'

"Moyo? What's up?" Michelle asked puzzled, "Did we have a meeting with Syaoran or something?"

'No. Uhh… something's come up. Can you meets us at Meiling's house?'

"Sure I'll be there in ten minutes."

Snapping her phone shut, Michelle immediately hurried off.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"So how's our newest patient?" Dr. Helen Bruck asked.

The nurse smiled wearily.

"He's stable for now, the blood transfusion seems to be working," he replied.

Helen nodded as she turned away and continued her rounds around the ward. She was still a little unused to working in a big city hospital, back to Santa Barbara she spent most of her time dealing with alcohol-poisoning cases from overindulgent tourists but here in L.A. with so much crime. She had seen her fair share of gunshots, stabbings, beatings, drug overdoses in the three months she had been stationed here.

Sighing, Helen returned to the spot where she had started, staring down at the tall man lying in the bed in front of her.

Who are you? she wondered quietly studying the man's face.

But Jonathan Blackly couldn't answer as his body worked hard to stay alive.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol strolled in through the front door of the law firm he now worked in as he winced, the bruises on his body reminding him of the fight he had lost only a night more. He sighed and wondered idly how the Angels recovered so quickly from their fights.

"Eriol?" Kevin Lacuray appeared in his line of vision, "You look like…"

"Crap?" Eriol added dryly, "I feel like it too."

"What happened?"

Eriol's eyes darted around briefly to check there was no-one listening.

"Venom Squad."

Kevin winced.

"Again?" he asked.

Eriol sighed.

"Sandra punches really hard," he said as a way of an explanation.

He shook himself and realised something.

"Wait, why are you here? I thought your maternity leave doesn't finish until next month," he asked smirking.

Kevin glared at him.

"It's paternity and no, the joke is not getting any funnier," Kevin snapped before sighing, "A big case's come up and the big boss wants me to handle it."

"Ouch," Eriol observed, "I'm guessing Diana's not happy."

"Not happy is a bit of an understatement and I have the bruises to prove it," Kevin muttered as they both passed through the foyer.

"Mr. Pink?" a receptionist called out.

Eriol winced as he always did when he heard his fake name. He grumbled inwardly and wondered what had possessed him to allow Tomoyo to choose his name.

Eriol Pink. Ugh. What kind an alias was that?

"Yes?" he replied with a charming smile.

"Mr. Livington is waiting in your office."

Eriol nodded.

"See ya later," he told Kevin as he headed off.

Kevin gave him a small jaunty wave.

"Have fun."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Who's this?" Michelle asked bluntly.

"I'm Nivaline Sarah Thomas," Nivaline said mildly, "And you're Michelle Hutton."

"Huh?" Michelle turned to her teammates for an explanation.

"She's a former Angel," Tomoyo supplied helpfully.

"Like Kiyone?" Michelle asked.

Nivaline raised an eyebrow.

"You've met Kiyone?"

"Once," Michelle winced, "It was a memorable experience."

"I'll bet," Nivaline smirked.

Michelle was still confused.

"So why are you here? And why did you guys call me over."

Meiling sighed.

"Michelle, you better sit down," she said slowly, "We've got something to tell you."

Frowning, Michelle slowly took a seat down onto a couch opposite her teammates and the former Angel.

"Magic exists," Meiling said bluntly.

Michelle stared at her, her mind racing, trying to decipher what her friend had just said. She blinked.

"Wha?!"

Tomoyo glared at Meiling, inwardly sighing over her friend's bluntness.

"Okay… Michelle, there's something we have to tell you."

Michelle stared at them, her face pale.

"Umm… this may sound rude but you guys didn't just happen to do a bunch of drugs did you?" she finally managed to choke out.

"Welcome to Magic Land," Meiling smirked as Tomoyo glared at her.

"But magic and lost books and cards and talismans and…" Michelle spluttered hurriedly, stumbling over her words, "WHAT?!"

"Magic does exist," Nivaline said gently, "Look. Huo."

Michelle leapt back in fright as a small ball of fire flickered to life in Nivaline's hand. With a flick of her wrist, Nivaline sent the ball of fire flying.

"Shui," she whispered.

The fire instantly dissolved into a ball of water that splattered against a wall, dripping down into a small puddle onto the polished wooden floor.

"Hey! I have to clean that!" Meiling complained.

Nivaline waved her hand and the water disappeared.

"Okay… excuse me but I think I may have to faint," Michelle said quietly, her face now incredibly pale.

"I know this is a big thing to take in but there's something else," Tomoyo said quickly.

She turned to Nivaline as the blonde woman nodded.

"Towards the end of the journal, Clow Reed spoke more directly about the Word of Four and about one of the prophecies in particular. Embedded in the very last sentence of the journal is a clue leading to that prophecy," Nivaline explained.

She flipped the journal open and read the translation.

"Those who wish to seek my words must seek the place where the greatest first lies in his eternal sleep. Rivers of metal shall lead the way."

Michelle stared at her but Tomoyo and Meiling merely rolled their eyes.

"Huh?" the blonde Angel gasped.

"Cryptic… always with the friggin' cryptic," Meiling muttered, "Just like that stupid lake of balance trash…"

Tomoyo sighed.

"Let me guess… you have no idea what that means?"

Nivaline shrugged.

"Sorry."

"Wait."

Everyone turned towards Michelle.

"Can't you just your cards thingy to figure it out?" Michelle asked.

"If we still had them, yeah," Tomoyo pointed out, "But they're long gone."

Michelle gaped at her.

"Huh?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

They had done it. They had defeated Heilang and the Void card. Finally, all the terror and despair and darkness were over and they had triumphed.

"We must go now," Yue said calmly.

"What?!" Sakura gasped.

Kerberos nodded gravely.

"The time of danger is over. Our task is done. We must return to the Limbo."

"But…" Meiling trailed off, "But… at least stay for the victory party!"

"As much as I enjoy a good party, Kerberos and Broody man's right," Ruby Moon said sadly, "Our presence on this plane will being to affect the world if we don't leave soon. It's the whole stupid mystical balance thing"

"So I guess this is goodbye huh?" Tomoyo asked sadly.  
Standing in the middle of Laotian jungle, the ruined temple where they had just fought Heilang still smoking behind them, the three Angels prepared to say goodbye to their guardians.

"And we need to take the talismans, books and the cards away as well," Yue added gently.

"Oh come on!" Meiling yelled frustrated.

"Those objects are of great power," Kerberos explained, "They're a great tool for the side of light. But with Heilang, the opposing side of darkness again, they will only serve to influence the balance on this earth. There's no telling what would happen if they remain here."

"Stupid balance," Meiling muttered, "I guess then…"

She held out her sword.

"I'm sorry," Yue said sincerely.

There was a sad silence as the three Angels handed their talismans: the staff, the sword and the mirror back to their winged guardians.

"Book of Fei Lao Shi! Come to me!" Kerberos commanded.

With a flash of gold light, the book appeared.

"Book of Hong Bao Shi Hue Die! Come to me!"

"Book of Yue Gong Jian Shou! Come to me!"

The other two books manifested themselves in the space between the Angels and the guardian.

"Cards of Clow! Return to your book confined!"

The three Angels gasped in shock as the cards flew from their clothing and was sucked back into their respective books. The three volumes slammed shut as the last card faded away.

"Goodbye Angels. You are true heroes of this world," Yue smiled.

"Remember girls, you're kick-ass chicks!" Ruby Moon smirked.

"I am glad to have known you all," Kerberos beamed, tears rolling down his furry face.

In a flash of bright light, they and the books and talismans disappeared. The three Angels stared at their spot where they'd been in stunned silence. It was Meiling who spoke first.

"Well…" Meiling looked around at the jungle around them, "How the hell are we going to get back?"

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Wow," Michelle said the first thing that came to her head.

"Yeah I know," Tomoyo said sympathetically, "Wow."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang woke up, his eyes bleary, his hair wild. He blinked stupidly in the semi-darkness. What had woken him up?

"Good morning lover," a husky voice drawled.

Xiaolang tensed for a split second as he felt a perfectly manicured hand settle onto his naked shoulder. Then his muscles loosened and his shoulders slumped with despair. Forcing a smile onto his face, he turned to the naked woman beside him, his sheets wrapped around her lithe figure.

He didn't even know her name. She was just one in a line of faceless many, woman he had used to try and forget.

"Good morning," he murmured.

Suddenly his phone went off again. That was what had woken him up.

He knelt down and scooped it up off the floor.

"Hello?" he said, his voice hoarse.

'_Xiaolang. Get to my house as soon as possible. We've got a situation,'_ Meiling said calmly, _'And have you heard from Syaoran? We tried to contact him but…'_

"I don't know," Xiaolang murmured wearily, his dark eyes scanning his messy bedroom.

His eyes finally spotted his other phone, the one he uses to contact the Angels as Syaoran and vice-versa. It was lying on the floor, its screen cracked. He remembered throwing it against the wall in helpless rage just the night before.

"I'll come as soon as I can."

He hung up as the woman threw herself on him again.

"Aww… do you have to?" the woman cooed, "We can just stay here all day."

Xiaolang turned and stared at her baby blue eyes wishing they were emerald. Everything about this woman was all wrong: her blonde hair should've been auburn. Her smirking face should've donned a sincere, brilliant smile.

She should've been Sakura.

But the beautiful Angle that had stolen his heart was gone and all that was left as drunken dreams and empty women.

"I've got to go," Xiaolang muttered shoving himself off the bed.

He felt nauseous and sick. Sick with himself, with her, with this dark lonely world.

Struggling to get his clothes on, he ignored the pouting woman lounging around on his bed.

"Who's Sakura?" she demanded petulantly.

Xiaolang froze.

"You whispered her name last night. Who is she?" the unknown woman hissed.

"Someone I lost," Xiaolang said quietly.

The woman sniffed delicately.

"Hm. You've obviously got some complex buddy, hankering after some lost chic," she smirked, "Come on, you can move on… to me. I bet she wasn't even half as pretty as m…"

"Shut. Up."

His voice was cold and deadly. The woman froze, frightened.

"Get out of here. Now."

Sensing she had gone way too far, the woman instantly jumped up and pulled her clothes on. With one last scared look over her shoulder, she disappeared out the door. An instant later, Xiaolang heard his front door slam shut.

Slowly he saw down on his bed and stared around with bleak eyes.

"I'm so screwed up," he muttered.

He wondered what Sakura would think now, looking down on him from heaven, staring at his dishevelled form. He wondered what she thought when he was drinking himself into oblivion. What she thought when he woke up every morning and found himself in bed with a nameless naked woman, the memory of the night before a distant dim dream.

Would she pity him?

Condemn him?

"I need help," he whispered.

But he was afraid. The drinking and the useless womanising held the pain at bay. In the arms of alcohol and faceless arms, it was easy to forget. But he needed to move on, let go of the pain and sorrow.

But he was scared. Scared that forgetting the pain meant forgetting her.

Slowly, wearily, painfully he stood up and walked out of the room. From the floor of his bedroom, a tear-stained photo of Sakura watched him leave.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Where the hell is he?" Meiling muttered glancing around the streets.

Standing on her front lawn, the Asian Angel was not happy. She had called Xiaolang half an hour ago and he had still not arrived.

"Give him a break Meiling," Tomoyo said gently, "We all know Xiaolang's not what he used to be."

Meiling sighed and turned to her friend, her ruby eyes worried.

"I sometimes fear for him," she admitted, "Ever since…"

She stopped swallowing painfully.

"He's been different," she said finally.

"Aren't we all?" Tomoyo replied bleakly.

Nivaline and Michelle were standing near the front door of the house, the older woman trying to answer all of Michelle's questions about magic and the occult.

"But we've moved on and somehow managed to deal with the pain," Meiling thought darkly back to the days when she had just lost her friend. If it wasn't for Marcus…

"I think it's because he's got no-one."

Meiling was startled from her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I mean, Xiaolang's pretty much all alone. We've never heard about his family or anything…" Tomoyo trailed off, "I mean you practically leaned on Marcus the whole time and I was a wreck for a long time until Eriol came back and helped me…"

"We've tried talking to him," Meiling murmured.

"I thought I got through to them that time but…" Tomoyo trailed off, her mind drifting back to those dark times.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

The sound of shattering glass tinkled through the air, the two Angels jumping at the sudden sound.

"I take it he's not handling it well," Meiling muttered dryly walking straight up to the door.

"I guess not," Tomoyo whispered sadly.

Meiling began knocking on the door noisily.

"Xiaolang! I know you're in there! Open up!"

Silence greeted them before Meiling let out a frustrated growl before Tomoyo could say or do anything, a vicious kick forced the door open. Meiling marched straight into Xiaolang's once neat apartment as Tomoyo helplessly followed her.

"Ge… get… out…" a familiar voice slurred.

Both Angels whirled around and stared into an emaciated face, bloodshot eyes blinking at them wearily.

"Are you drunk?" Meiling snarled, ever since Sakura's death, Meiling had hidden her sorrow beneath a mask of seething impatience and fury.

Xiaolang blinked at her owlishly.

"So?" he muttered under his breath taking another swig from the bottle in his hand.

Meiling opened her mouth to say something but Tomoyo cut in hurriedly, stopping her before she could even draw breath.

"Xiaolang… this isn't good for you," she said gently, trying to reach the man.

Xiaolang laughed bitterly.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Meiling snarled before Tomoyo could stop her, "You think Sakura would like to see you like this?"  
"Sakura's not here to see it, is she?" Xiaolang snapped back, "She's gone! And if damn Angels had been watching out for her inste…"

"BAM!"

Xiaolang's head snapped to the side as Meiling's hand shot out and connected sharply with his cheek. A stunned silence fell over the room as Meiling began trembling with rage.

"How dare you," she spat, her voice deceptively quiet, "How dare you say that."

"I'm sorry," Xiaolang whispered, tears running down his face, "I don't know what came over me."

"Well, it could be all that alcohol you've been drinking," Meiling growled back viciously, "That's bound to kill some brain cells."

"Stop it!" Tomoyo snapped, "Meiling! Xiaolang! Just stop it, okay?"

She glared at both of them, the cold fury in her lavender eyes stopping any protests in their tracks.

"Sakura is dead," she continued coldly, "It hurts like hell but that's the truth and we'll have to deal. I'm sorry but drinking yourself stupid or ripping off everyone's head is not the way."

"But it helps," Xiaolang mumbled as he began to drink from the bottle again.

With a cry of frustration, Tomoyo batted his hand away forcing it down.

"Stop it!" she snapped, "God, what is with you two? You know why Sakura died?"

"Because we were too slow and stupid to help her?" Meiling glared at her with tearful eyes, "Xiaolang's right… it is our fault."

"No, she died trying to make this world a better a place. She died for what she believed in and I refuse to have you two trample all over her memories by acting like idiots," Tomoyo snapped at her, "If she was here she would be so ashamed of what you two have become."

Xiaolang and Meiling stared at her as Tomoyo struggled with her own emotions, tears meandering down her face in rivers of sorrow.

"If you want to honour her memory, do what she would've wanted us to do," she continued gently, "Live… for her."

Tomoyo stared at them, her lavenders eyes cold and hard.

"The choice is yours."

And with that she turned away and walked out of the apartment.

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I think he really did try but the pain just got too much," Meiling whispered.

Tomoyo took a deep breath.

"Remind me when this is over to drag his ass over to a therapist or something," Tomoyo told her friend, "We need to get him some help and soon."

Meiling nodded.

"Deal."

Michelle trotted over.

"He's still not here?" the blonde Angel asked, worried, "What's taking him so long?"

Tomoyo opened her mouth to reply.

"Awww… will you just look at this. All the icky Angels together at last."

They all whirled around only to stare into Garrett Huss's sneering face. Four of the Venom Squad members were arrayed behind him, Uri tossing a dagger between her hands.

"I think we should take a picture…" Garrett smirked.

He held out his bony hands, a ball of black fire gathering in his palms. Meiling and Tomoyo tensed as Michelle freaked, still not used to this whole 'magic is real' stuff.

"Because you know a photo lasts forever," he sniggered, "Unlike you girls!"

With a final nasty grin, he hurled the fire straight at them.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"The bleedings stopped," the nurse noted gently peeling back the patient's bandages.

"That's the last of his worries," Helen told the young nurse, "The internal and head injuries he suffered are extensive. I'm not sure…"

She trailed off staring at Jonathan's battered face.

"What?" the nurse prodded.

"I'm not sure he's ever going to wake up."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"SHUI!"

A blast of water doused the fire as Garrett snarled. Nivaline calmly strolled forwards, her hazel-green eyes flashing.

"Umm… Nivaline?" Meiling murmured nervously, "This is my house so please try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum."

"Get them!" Garrett roared.

"That's my line!" Anthony snapped back.

He took a deep breath.

"Get them!"

Verona, Uri and Sandra pounced on the Angels as Nivaline and Garrett took their fight onto the street, magic arcing out from their fingers. Magical fire seared the ground as the two mages fought.

Uri darted in, trying to slash at Meiling but the Angel was quicker, dancing backwards before hitting the assassin with a spinning kick. Uri stumbled backwards as Meiling advanced, ruby eyes glittering dangerously.

Tomoyo found herself up against Verona as the towering Russian woman charged straight at her. Gulping, Tomoyo spun away dodging the blows as she tried to push the woman backwards with a flurry of punches but the attacks bounced off her muscular build to little effect. A lucky blow sent her tumbling into the side of a parked car near the curb as Verona leapt to the attack. Tomoyo instantly dropped to the ground as Verona's fist shot through the air.

"BAM!"

The car alarm instantly went off as Verona's fist smashed through the glass. Tomoyo instantly punched the woman straight in the gut. Grabbing onto Verona, Tomoyo smashed her back into the car denting the side. Finally getting her hands amongst the coils of the blonde woman's hair, Tomoyo reared backwards and smashed her head through a pane of unbroken glass.

Smiling in victory, she stepped back.

Verona merely extracted her head from the ruined window and stood up, cracking her neck as glass tumbled down from her hair.

"Eep," Tomoyo whimpered.

Verona blasted a kick straight into her chest sending her flying.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"CRACK!"

Sandra's whip slashed through the air as Michelle ducked, the whip barely missing her head. Springing forwards, she managed to knock Sandra's hand away before it could come down to sending the whip end flying again. Head-butting the veiled woman, Michelle threw her to the ground, kicking the whip from her hand.

She moved to leap onto her but was stopped in her tracks as a pair of strong arms wrenched her shoulders backwards.

"Need help?" Anthony snarled.

Michelle struggled to throw the taller man off but he held on tight.

"This was for before," Anthony murmured venomously into her ear.

Sandra sprung up and punched Michelle in the face.

Once.  
Twice.

Screaming, Michelle wrenched away as the fist came down for a third blow. Anthony was thrown backwards as Sandra missed Michelle hitting her boss instead. Michelle smirked at her.

"Oops… did I do that?" she sneered.

Sandra replied with a blow that sent Michelle spinning. The blonde Angel snarled in anger and righted herself as Sandra slammed into her. The two women grappled with each other, trying to break the others defences as they struggled with each other.

"What's with the non-punning today?" Michelle hissed, "Too afraid to speak?"

Sandra twisted and Michelle found herself crashing to the ground.

"As if I'm afraid of you, you Angel wannabe," Sandra hissed.

The words were cruel and stung, attacking at every last one of Michelle's insecurities. Her blue eyes blazed as she lashed out, fury powering her blows to deadly levels.

"I. Am. Not. A. Wannabe!!" she screamed.

Sandra was thrown backwards as Michelle flipped onto her feet, lunging forwards with a rain of deadly blows. With a final triumphant kick, Sandra hit the ground, bruised and broken.

Michelle towered over her, gasping for breath, adrenaline roaring through her veins.

"Who's the wannabe now?" she spat.

"I think you are," a cold voice hissed behind her.

Michelle whirled around only to be punched viciously in the face. She hit the deck, out cold as Anthony smirked down at her.

"Amateur."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline sent a wave of fire flying at Garrett but it dispersed in a wave of dark light as Garrett gestured with his hands. Risking a glance at the fight on the lawn, Nivaline groaned seeing Michelle knocked out and Tomoyo seconds away from being pummelled into unconsciousness by Verona. Meiling was holding back both Uri and Anthony. At least one of the assassins had been taken out: Sandra was down for the count.

"Give me back my journal!" Garrett roared.

A jet of purple light surged at her as Nivaline threw herself to the side, the light exploding as it hit the ground.

"Wow," Nivaline said calmly between harsh breaths, "You sound like a three year old."

Garrett roared and set a crackling burst of electricity at her. Nivaline countered with a stream of fire. The two mages wrestled for control as fire and lightning met, clashing together in a fiery explosion. Both mages were thrown off their feet as sparks flew into the air.

"Okay… bad idea," Nivaline muttered staggering to her feet.

"TEMPESTAS!"

Nivaline was blasted backward as a bolt of black lightning slashed into her. Gasping in pain, she held out her hands and concentrated.

"XUE!"

Ice-laced wind roared through the air as Garrett's outstretched hand was slashed open, ice crystals tearing into his skin. Snarling in fury and pain, Garrett glared at her, a stream of red light darting out from his irises. The blizzard instantly disappeared as Nivaline and Garrett began to circle each other, wary of the others power.

"ARGH!" Garrett struck fast flinging his uninjured arm forwards.

A stream of liquid shadow, crackling with dark energy lanced forwards as Nivaline countered with a wave of fire. The shadow tore through the flames as Nivaline's eyes widened in shock.

"ANGARIA!" she bellowed.

Tendrils of blue energy washed over Garrett as Nivaline was struck in the chest by his attack. She flew through the air, hitting the ground with a crunch as Garrett struggled to break free. The blue energy tightened around him, paralysing his limbs. With a cry of fury, Garrett struggled on, trying to break free from the spell.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"CRACK!"

Tomoyo was thrown into Meiling's letterbox, snapping the wooden post in two. She hit the ground painfully, gasping for breath. She looked up only to see Verona bounding towards her.

Gritting her teeth, she crawled to her feet. Suddenly her foot hit something solid.

She looked down and smiled.

As Verona lunged at her, intent on finishing her off, Tomoyo scooped up the broken off post with the letterbox still attached to it and swung it straight at the assassin.

There was might clang as the metal box slammed into Verona's ivory mask. Tomoyo gasped in pain as she felt the shockwaves roar up her arm.

For a split second, Verona seemed to be frozen in position, the crumpled letterbox bent against her masked face. Then she suddenly fell sideways and hit the ground with a gentle thump. Gasping in relief, Tomoyo threw the ruined letterbox to the side and turned to her friends.

Michelle was knocked out, sprawled beside an unconscious Sandra.

Meiling was being double-teamed by both Anthony and Uri, the blue-haired woman slashing at her with her katana style daggers. Glaring at her enemy, Tomoyo ran to help her friend.

Anthony threw a left hook as Meiling ducked. Uri darted in, dagger jabbing at her and Meiling was forced to back-pedal hurriedly trying to dodge the blade.

Suddenly Uri was wrenched away as Meiling looked up. Tomoyo snarled at the assassin, fists at the ready.

"Awww… you went after me. I'm touched," Uri sneered.

Tomoyo answered with a high kick that connected with her face. Uri stumbled backwards as Tomoyo fell on her, swinging wildly.

Meiling whirled back to Anthony and dodged a left hook before batting his right arm away, scoring a brutal chop straight to his neck. Anthony stumbled backwards, choking as Meiling ploughed into him, tackling him to the ground. Meiling reared up ready to take him out with a final punch but she never got to it.

"GET OFF HIM!"

Meiling was spear-tackled to the ground as something slammed into her side. Struggling, she managed to buck her attack off her. Sandra rolled neatly to her feet as Meiling flipped into a battle stance.

"God, weren't you taken out?!" Meiling demanded angrily.

Sandra smirked, her lips barely visible through the yellow veil she swore.

"Noticed the use of past tense," she sneered, "That was then. This is now."

Meiling tensed, ready to fight but a scream of fury jerked her attention away. Both sides stared out onto the road where Garrett was struggling with what looked like sparks of blue light running all over his body.

"Right," Meiling muttered.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Sandra leapt forwards, cracking Meiling in the face with a spinning backhand. Meiling jerked from the blow but head-butted the woman before throwing an elbow straight into her neck. Meiling shoved her away as her instincts screamed at her.

Ducking and spinning, she punched Anthony, who was trying to sneak up behind her, straight in the gut knocking the air out of him. As the man stumbled backwards, gasping for breath, Meiling saw something over his shoulder that made her blood freeze.

Verona was slowly getting up.

Meiling growled in frustration and turned as Sandra slammed into her with a roar.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline came to, her face mashed against the harsh asphalt of the road. Gasping in pain, she slowly dragged herself up, her eyes instantly sought out Garrett and she smiled seeing him still struggle with her last spell, a powerful piece of paralysing magic.

"Okay," Nivaline straightened to her feet, "Time to end this."

Green light gathered around her body, washing over her thin figure as she concentrated, the light spilling into the palm of her hands. Garrett's eyes widened in shock and his struggles increased.

"I call upon you to strike my enemies down. As I will it, come forth the ever majestic… PHUONG!" Nivaline screamed hurling her magic forwards.

The green light jetted forwards. As it flew towards Garrett as it form began to change from a shapeless blast into the rough-hewn figure of a giant bird, flapping its wings and screeching in fury.

With a final roar, Garrett's dark magic tore through Nivaline's paralysing spell as he desperately hurled everything he had at the incoming attack.

"SCELERIS!"

The two attacks clashed in a violent explosion.

"BOOM!"

Everyone was blasted off their feet as shockwaves and smoke tore through the area. Meiling winced as several of her windows cracked and shattered, spilling broken glass onto her lawn.

"There goes my low-rate insurance premium," she muttered climbing to her feet.

Several nearby car alarms went off adding to the chaos. Meiling tried to see through the thick smoke blanketing the lawn but she couldn't see anything.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated.

Suddenly she leapt up into the air and her legs shot out in a vicious split-kick. Anthony and Sandra was smacked in the face, hitting the ground as Meiling landed, wagging her finger at them.

"Trying to ambush your enemies? That's not very decent of you," she taunted.

The crunch of glass underfoot caught her attention as Meiling turned around. Like a monster from a nightmare, Verona's hulking form appeared from the smoke, cracks forming on her ivory mask signs of Tomoyo's attack on her.

Meiling gulped and knelt down in a crouch.

This was going to take some fighting.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline glanced around, eyes wary as she tried to see through the smoke, her senses on high alert. Suddenly a jet of black light ripped through the smoke. She turned trying to see what it was and her mouth opened in a voiceless scream as the light tore into her chest.

She was sent flying in graceful arc before crashing to the ground, her chest torn and bloody. Coughing wetly, Nivaline tried to crawl onto her feet but pain roared through her veins. Garrett appeared before her, his face black with soot but otherwise unscathed.

"Look mommy," Garrett taunted, "The puppy's all broken."

His voice became more high-pitched as he continued to mock Nivaline.

"I'm sorry Jimmy," he continued doing a bad imitation of a mother, "But I think she has to be put down!"

Garrett smirked as Nivaline glared defiantly up at him.

"First the journal," he held out his hands and Nivaline could do nothing but watch as it sprung free from her clothes and glided to the pale man's bony hands, "Then you die."

With a final gleeful smile, Garrett raised his hands, dark energy crackling between his fingers.

"I think it's time to see if Angels can go to hell," he mocked.

"BAM!"

Nivaline blinked in shock as Garrett was sent flying, a ball of blue light wreathed around his bony figure. He hit the ground and looked up, snarling in fury.

Xiaolang glared at him.

"No but I think you will," the young man answered calmly.

Garrett was slammed with another magical attack as Xiaolang advanced.

Meiling danced around Verona carefully to keep some distance between them. There's a cry of pain from the smoke surrounding the street as Meiling risked a look over at there but she can't see anything through the smog.

Cursing, Meiling ducked dodging Verona's next attack. As she fought desperately to avoid the Russian woman's vicious blows, Meiling prayed that Nivaline was alright.

Garrett was knocked back to the ground as Xiaolang lashed out with his magic, hitting him with a burst of emerald light.

"I know you," Garrett said carefully as he crawled to his feet.

Nivaline let out a low moan as she fainted. Garrett took in a deep breath, sniffing the air, scenting his opponent.

"That magic… that's Li clan magic," Garrett smirked, "Now what's a Li doing here of all places?"

"Getting rid of some trash," Xiaolang said coldly, his eyes boring into Garrett's.

"INFERNOS!" Garrett roared.

With a flick of his hand, Xiaolang dispersed the fire gushing towards him. Garrett's eyes widened in shock as Xiaolang blasted him with a burst of green light. Hitting the ground hard, Garrett slowly dragged himself up, clothes smoking. Xiaolang smirked at him.

"Had enough old man?" he sneered.

Garrett raised his hand in response, dark energy flowing between his fingertips.

Xiaolang tensed as Garrett's lips curled in a cold vicious smile. Without a word, Garrett flung his hand forwards, the dark energy snapping through the air straight at him.

Xiaolang screamed in pain as the magic slammed into his chest as his body convulsed wildly.

"XUE!"  
Garrett was slammed in the side with a blast of icy wind as his attack faded allowing Xiaolang to slowly stagger to his feet. Nivaline raised her hand, hazel-green eyes flashing as Garrett snarled at her.

"TORMENTUM!"  
"HUO!"

The two attacks clashed in mid-air as Garrett clenched his fists increasing the power of his dark magic. Nivaline was pushed backwards, grunting in exertion as Garrett began to wrestle control from her.

"LIGHTNING!"

A thin tendril of lightning lanced into Garrett's arm as he screamed in pain. Nivaline roared with triumph as she lunged forwards, fire streaming from her fingertips. Garrett let out a howl of rage before disappearing in a flash of dark light, fire sweeping through the air where he had been just seconds ago.

Nivaline and Xiaolang glanced at each other.

"Where did he go?" she demanded.

Xiaolang shrugged and turned towards the smoke-filled lawn where Tomoyo and Meiling were still fighting off the Cobra Mark members.

"FENG!" Nivaline commanded.

A harsh wind swept through the street ripping the smoke away. The fighters looked up in surprise as Xiaolang and Nivaline advanced on the Venom Squad assassins, their eyes flashing with fury.

"Come on!" Garrett reappeared on the roof of Meiling's house, staring down at the combatants below, "We got what we came for! Let's go!"

With a sweep of his hands, dark light washed over the assassins and with a burst of bright light, they disappeared.

Meiling and Tomoyo glanced wearily up at Garrett, their faces battered and bruised.

Garrett gave them a small mocking wave before he too disappeared in flash of dark light.

The two Angels swung to look at the two mages.

"Well," Meiling said slowly, "That was fun."

And she promptly fainted.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Those who wish to seek my words must seek the place where the greatest first lies in his eternal sleep. Rivers of metal shall lead the way?" Xiaolang frowned, reciting the clue.

Nivaline nodded wearily, clutching a bloody cloth to her wounded arm. Tomoyo was slumped beside her on the couch, too tried to even attend to her own scrapes and cuts.

Xiaolang was silent, mentally going over the one cryptic clue.

Suddenly a slow smile unfurled over his lips.

"What?" Nivaline demanded.

"I think I know where it is."

"What?!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett flipped to the last page of the journal and smiled as he read the last line.

"Those who wish to seek my words must seek the place where the greatest first lies in his eternal sleep. Rivers of metal shall lead the way," he read.

He looked up, dark eyes glittering.

Anthony and the rest of his Venom Squad members were looking at him suspiciously.

"Well," Garrett sneered, "Looks like we're taking a small excursion."

"Where?" Uri demanded.

Xiaolang let out a long breath.

"China."


	14. Face Off

Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever

**Chapter 13: Face Off**

"Those who wish to seek my words must seek the place where the greatest first lies in his eternal sleep. Rivers of metal shall lead the way?" Xiaolang frowned, reciting the clue.

Nivaline nodded wearily, clutching a bloody cloth to her wounded arm. Tomoyo was slumped beside her on the couch, too tried to even attend to her own scrapes and cuts.

Xiaolang was silent, mentally going over the one cryptic clue.

Suddenly a slow smile unfurled over his lips.

"What?" Nivaline demanded.

"I think I know where it is."

"What?!" Nivaline gasped in shock.

Xiaolang let out a long breath.

"China."

Tomoyo and Nivaline stared at him, stunned.

"China?" Nivaline frowned, "Why China?"

"The greatest first," Xiaolang pointed out, "It probably refers to the First Emperor of China. We all know that Clow Reed has many connections with Feudal China."

"But the rivers of metal?" Tomoyo asked.

Xiaolang smiled.

"Well, archaeologists know that the First Emperor's tomb is located near Xi'an, at the foot of Mount Li…"

"Where the Terracotta Warriors are," Nivaline gasped.

Xiaolang nodded.

"And according to legends the tomb contains a huge relief map of China made of bronze representing features of the earth. And the rivers such as the Yangtze, the Yellow Rivers and others are reproduced as channels filled with…"

Nivaline gasped.

"Mercury," she murmured remembering her own studies into China's history.

"Hence the rivers of metal," Xiaolang finished.

Nivaline shook her head in wonder.

"Ugh, we read the clues all wrong. We thought the rivers of metal was a metaphor like that whole 'lake of balance' thing," Nivaline sighed, "Well, at least we know where we're going."

"Wait."

Nivaline and Xiaolang turned to look at Tomoyo.

"So you're proposing we break into an ancient tomb undisturbed for two millennia and ransack it looking for an ancient mystical prophecy left behind by some crazy mage who like cryptic clues and add to that the distinct possibility that another crazy mage and co. may be on our tails?" Tomoyo wanted to know.

Xiaolang shrugged.

"Yeah."

Tomoyo sighed.

"Okay, when do we leave?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol picked up his ringing phone as he shuffled his way through some paperwork.

"Hello?"

'_Eriol?'_

"Tomoyo!" Eriol smiled, "Hey, what's up?"

'_Pack your bags. We've got a mission.'_

"Huh?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"So we're breaking into some tomb huh?" Uri rolled her eyes, "Darn, and I forgot to pack my Indiana Jones outfit."

"Why are we helping you again?" Anthony demanded.

Garrett glared at him, eyes glittering dangerously.

"Because you still owe me big time," he grounded out slowly.

"Hmmm… I think helping you steal that diary makes us even," Anthony sneered.

Garrett sneered at him.

"Oh, do you really want me to undo my work?"

Anthony's eyes flickered over to Sandra, who was unveiled and silent, watching the exchange with emotionless eyes.

"And…" Garrett smiled, "I'll pay. Ten million."

"Well," Anthony drawled out, "That changes everything."

He turned towards his Venom Squad assassins.

"Girls, looks like we got a new job to handle."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Okay… I know I'm probably going to look like an idiot for saying this but… what the hell?!" Eriol barked out.

"Join the bandwagon," Michelle said wearily rubbing her temple.

"Turns out the books weren't the only thing Clow Reed messed with," Tomoyo explained calmly, "He also came up with some crazy prophecies named the Word of Four, which he then hid across the world. We got one of them and the other is apparently located in China and if we don't get to it first, some crazy dark wizard known as Garrett Huss is going to get it first and then badness ensues."

"Magic?! Again?!" Eriol's voice was bordering on soprano, "I. Hate. MAGIC!"

"Buck up," Meiling said breezily, "We've got mages of our own."

"You know," Nivaline spoke up, "I'm still confused about Garrett's allies."

"Allies?" Tomoyo echoed, "Oh you mean the Venom Squad?"

"Yeah, those guys."

Michelle sighed.

"They belong to Cobra Mark, an international terrorist organization with numerous cells all around the world. Anthony Collins, that man with the dark hair, is the leader of one of those cells, he also heads the Venom Squad, a group of top assassins that work exclusively for Cobra Mark," she explained, "We've ran into them a lot lately… at first it was just Verona, Uri and Anthony…"

Nivaline blinked in confusion.

"Verona's the hulking one with the mask," Meiling spat out.

"And Uri's the blue-haired one," Tomoyo pointed out.

Michelle nodded.

"And then about a year after I joined, another guy started running around with them, Jonathan," she continued.

"He's the tall one with brown hair," Eriol scowled.

Meiling bit her lips.

"Funnily enough, he didn't join in the crazy fun today," she sighed, "Meh, probably off killing someone or something."

"And then about six months ago, Sandra first appeared," Michelle finished, "She's the one with the yellow veil."

"So, you shouldn't worry," Tomoyo assured Nivaline, "There's six of them and six of us. And we can take them on one-on-one."

"Plus, we're so much more prettier," Michelle smirked.

A small smile flitted across Nivaline's lips.

"Okay, I think we need to head out now. If Garrett's figured out the clues he's going to try and get there before us so we need to beat him. Now."

"Okey dokey," Meiling gave her a small salute, "Let's move out."

And as one the six walked out the door.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Eriol?" Tomoyo poked at her boyfriend who was sleeping in his chair next to her.

They were in mid-flight, flying over the Pacific Ocean. The others passengers in the cramped economy cabin were fast asleep but Tomoyo wanted to talk.

"Wha?" Eriol opened his eyes wearily, "What's wrong?"

He muffled a yawn as Tomoyo look at her worriedly.  
"I just wanted to know… you are okay with this whole magic thing right?" she blurted out, "You did kinda freak out before."

Eriol was silent for a long second.

"Eriol?" Tomoyo prodded.

"The last time I tangled with magic stuff I almost ended up killing you," Eriol said finally, his expression closed and unreadable.

Tomoyo was silent for a second, her mind drifting back to that horrific final battle with Eriol who was enchanted by the magic of Okami Noir, the pure fury in his eyes as he hacked at her again and again with his sword, trying to tear her into pieces…

"That wasn't you," Tomoyo said carefully, "You _were_ under a spell."

Eriol turned to her with tortured eyes.

"But what if it happens again? I don't want to hurt you," his voice was pained.

"You won't," Tomoyo vowed, "I know you, Eriol. You'd never hurt me."

A small smile graced Eriol's lips.

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?" Tomoyo asked confused.

"Always make me feel better," Eriol said simply.

Tomoyo smiled.

"It's a gift from the gods," her face turned serious again, "Eriol, I believe in you. I know you can overcome anything. Even if some creep does try to bewitch you again, I know you'd be able to fight it because…"

She smiled softly.

"I just know. I trust you. Completely."

Eriol smiled and leaned in. They kissed, softly, passionately. He pulled away, smirking.

"You know if you want we could go into the toilet and uh… work out these feelings… you know… physically…" he waggled his eyebrows at her.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes and punched him.

"OW!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Night fell on Xi-an, blanketing the small town in shadows and silence. In the special buildings built over the earthen vaults containing the famed Terracotta Warriors, a security guard wandered through the complex, flashlight dancing through the shadows.

Suddenly a hand reached out and tapped him on the shoulder.

With a cry he whirled around only to be punched brutally in the face. He fell to the ground without a sound.

Verona casually tossed his body into a nearby utility closet. Sandra carefully closed the door and stuffed a piece of wood under it, jamming the door shut.

She turned towards Verona and the two silently padded down the hallway, past several glass cases boasting artefacts found at the dig. Finally they came to a walkway overlooking the vaults where silent rows of Terracotta Warriors stood in their eternal sentry.

"Guards taken care of?" Anthony asked.

Sandra nodded.

"All knocked out and locked in various places all over the complex," she reported.

Anthony nodded, satisfied and turned to Garrett, who was studying the warriors down below with intent.

"So, found a way inside yet old man?" Anthony drawled.

"Don't anger me boy," Garrett snarled back.

"Uh oh," Uri sneered in a sing-song voice, "The boys are going to fi-ight."

She opened her mouth to insult them further but Sandra suddenly reached out and grabbed onto Uri's arm. Startled, the blue-haired assassin whirled towards her fellow assassin. Sandra gave her a warning look.

With a soft sigh, Uri shook her head and turned back to Garrett, disgruntled.

"Ah," Garrett let out a soft sound, "So that's it."

Eyes glittering with glee, Garrett raised his hands. The Venom Squad members backed off a little, stepping away from him as dark light began to wreathe his body figure.

Anthony and Uri gaped in shock as the clay warriors down below began to glow with the same shadowy light. Sandra's eyes were blank and unreadable as she stared down at the magic flashing beneath.

Suddenly and without warning, the whole building began to shake.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A rusty old pick-up truck pulled noisily up in front of the building, its gears grinding. It was the dead of night and there should've been no visitors around.

But these were no tourists.

Tomoyo hopped over the back of the truck and landed lightly. Eriol piled out beside her. The creaky door swung open and Michelle smoothly slid out as Nivaline joined her. Meiling landed beside her as Xiaolang calmly dropped down to the ground.

The six of them glanced at the complex housing the Terracotta Warriors and if their guesses were right, the entrance to the tomb of the First Emperor.

"Why hasn't someone tried to open it before?" Michelle asked quietly, blue eyes scanning the area, "I mean with magic?"

Nivaline shrugged.

"Because most places such are these are deemed to be sacred. The first thing a mage learns is not to disturb sacred areas… nature has a very nasty way of dealing with rule-breakers," Nivaline smiled tightly, "But that could be an old-wives tale."

"Could be?" Eriol demanded, "Great."

Xiaolang ignored him.

"Ready?" he asked.

There was a quick flurry of movements as everyone moved to check their weapons were secure.

Tomoyo thrust her twin sai daggers into their sheaths as she nodded. Beside her, Eriol checked his sawn-off shotgun was strapped to his back, his fingers quickly moved across to a small thin rapier strapped to the other side, the two weapons intersecting each other across his back in a cross. He too nodded his assent.

Meiling grinned wickedly and clacked her nunchucks together as Michelle held up what appeared to be a small metal pole. She thrust it through the loop of her jeans as she glanced at Xiaolang and smiled.

Nivaline was unarmed but her eyes glittered dangerously as she stood silent studying the building. Xiaolang hefted his ornate Chinese sword and thrust it home into its sheath as he turned to Nivaline.

"Okay, lead the way," he commanded.

Nivaline took a step forwards.

Suddenly the building began to shake, the glass vibrating in their frames dangerously as the Angels and their allies froze, gaping in shock.

Nivaline's eyes widened.

"Garrett! He's opening the tomb!"

Before anyone could even speak, she raised her hand and blasted a jet of red light at the glass door entrance. It blew inwards, glass and metal breaking and shattering as Nivaline ploughed through the debris into the building.

Meiling's grin widened.

"Well, boys and girls," she smirked, "I think it's time to rumble!"

With that the five of them gave chase.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

With a cry Garrett thrust his arm forwards, a beam of dark light jetted outwards and struck one of the Terracotta Warriors. The statue began to vibrate as Garrett clenched his fists, Uri and Anthony gasped in shock as the beam of light refracted off the statue and struck another, connection the two with a line of black light.

Verona stood unmoving as Sandra watched, eyes carefully blank as the beam of light pinballed along the grid of warriors, connecting each of them with lines of light.

Yelling in triumph, Garrett pulled his hands away as the beam of light disconnected from his hand. Below the whole earthen vault glimmered with dark light as Uri blinked, stunned.

"What the…" she trailed up voicelessly.

Sandra blinked as the light faded away slightly revealing the scene below. Each clay statue warrior was bathed in dark light as strands of darkness connected it to its neighbours. The line when all joined together revealed a sinister pattern: a multi-pointed star, the soldiers standing at the junction of intersecting lines.

Garrett smiled as he raised his left hand. Swiftly he bought it down. The rumbling intensified as a strange creaking resounded through the building. The Venom Squad glanced around uneasily as Garrett raised his right and swung it down.

There was a deep grinding sound and everyone's head snapped towards the pit. The soldiers were moving, sliding across the earthen floor, their clay feet grinding against the grit. Anthony gasped as the soldiers were moved by an invisible force to form neat lines around the edge of the pit. The multi-pointed glowing black star remained where it was, hovering in the air as the soldiers moved beneath.

Slowly the star shrunk and began lowering itself to the ground. Finally it lay flat against a bare patch of earth in the centre of the pit. A dark line appeared around the edge of the star, it quickly grew shooting off in different direction until the star was bordered by a large glowing rectangle.

Dust flew into the air as the patch of earth contained within the rectangle began to shake even more violently then the surrounding area. Garrett's lips peeled back in a gruesome smile revealing his yellowed teeth as the ground inside the rectangle began to sink into the ground.

Anthony's eyes were practically bulging, as Uri turned pale beside him. Sandra remained silent and blank as the earthy patch continued to sink, the far side sinking further in then the other.

"A ramp!" Uri gasped finally seeing what the rectangle was turning into.

The ground and building finally stopped shaking as the rectangle stopped with a finally screeching grind. A large section of the floor had fallen into the ground creating a ramp that led into a huge gaping darkness. Grit fell from the edge of the opening and into the shadows creating a soft sinister hiss. Garrett calmly climbed over the rails and threw himself over the edge. Dark light washed over his body as his magic gently lowered him to the ground as the edge of the pit. Once he landed, he turned around and smirked up at his companions.

"Are you coming?" he sneered.

The Venom Squad glanced at each other before beginning to follow him, climbing over the rail. Sandra was straddled across the top bar when suddenly she whirled around.

Her hand shot up and caught the sai dagger flying straight towards her head. With a contemptuous smile, she hurled it to the ground. It bounced once with a loud tang.

"Damn," Tomoyo said calmly, "Missed."

Sandra smirked as the Angels leapt straight at her.

"CRACK!"

Her hand flashed up as her whip slashed the air forcing them back.

"Get them," Garrett commanded quietly.

The Venom Squad flipped themselves back onto the walkway as the Angels advanced, Eriol, Xiaolang and Nivaline hanging back. Meiling swung her nunchucks around expertly as Tomoyo scooped up her sai dagger, twirling them between her hands.

Uri sniggered and pulled up her own katana style blades.

With a cry, the two sides charged at each other and collided.

Michelle was shoved away as Sandra slammed right into her. She bounced away and rolled onto her feet as Sandra cracked her whip dangerously. Michelle smirked and pulled the small metal pole from her jeans. With a quick flick of her wrist, the pole extended itself with a snap, small sections shooting out from the metal until she had a long metal quarterstaff in her hands. Whipping it forwards, she charged straight at Sandra.

Sandra whirled around, dodging the blunt end of the pole before elbowing Michelle straight in the face. The Angel fell but whipped her staff around cracking Sandra painfully across the shins. The assassins crashed to her knees, her whip flying from her hands as Michelle rose slamming the pole down onto assassin. She raised it again and brought it swiftly down but Sandra caught her wrist stopping the blow.

The two women struggled trying to break the deadlock.

Meiling expertly dodged Verona's lunge before lashing out with her nunchucks, cracking the woman across the chest. Ducking and spinning, she landed a series of painful blows to her knees and gut before back-pedalling away. Verona was still for a second before she slowly and dangerously cracked her knuckles. Meiling gulped recognising the danger signs. Verona leapt forwards, fists swinging wildly but Meiling ducked clacking Verona straight in her masked face with her spinning weapon. The tall blond Russian woman stumbled backwards as Meiling lunged straight at her.

Tomoyo and Uri crossed knives, slashing and swiping at each other. Her instincts screamed at her as Tomoyo hurriedly ducked. Anthony was trying to sneak up behind her, a long thin sword clutched in his hands. The blade whipped through the air hacking a chunk of her hair off as Tomoyo grimaced and elbowed him in the gut, driving him back. Anthony recovered and tried to skewer her but a rapier blade knocked his sword away.

Eriol glared at him.

"Bastard," he spat before punching him straight in the face.

Anthony reeled backwards as Eriol lunged at him, rapier flashing through the air.

Garrett gritted his teeth as he watched the fight above.

"TORMENTUM!" he screamed lashing out with a jet of blood red light.

"SHIELD!" Xiaolang yelled throwing up a shimmering emerald wall of bright light.

Xiaolang screamed in pain as Garrett's attack obliterated his shield. Nivaline, Eriol, Xiaolang and the Angels were hurled backwards as the light slammed into them. The Venom Squad assassins stood unharmed.

"Now if you're done wasting my time," Garrett sneered, "We've got a job to do."

The assassins raced towards the rail and leapt over the edge landing in a crouch before the dark mage. Whirling around, his dark cloak fluttering behind him dramatically, Garrett walked down the ramp and into the engulfing darkness.

With a wary look at their downed opponents on the walkway above, the assassins slowly followed. As Verona disappeared down into the underground, the purple light suddenly faded and the ramp slammed shut turning back into a bare patch of earth.

The Terracotta Warriors was shoved by an invisible force back into their normal eternal ranks as silent once again fell over the complex.

All was back to the normal.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Ouch," Meiling muttered sitting up.

"Ouch," Michelle agreed as she crawled to her feet.

"I hate magic," Eriol moaned.

Xiaolang slowly sat up and looked around at the empty walkway and cursed loudly.

"Damn he's powerful," he growled heaving himself onto his feet.

With moans, groans and whimpers of pain the others joined him as they stumbled slowly towards the edge of the walkway overlooking the pit full of Terracotta Warriors.

"Okay, I'm guessing we need to open that up again…" Meiling sighed, "Any ideas?"

"Open Sesame!" Michelle chirped brightly.

Tomoyo and Eriol sniggered as Meiling shot her a withering look. Beside her, Xiaolang and Nivaline were staring down at the pit intently studying the statues.

"I sense power," Nivaline murmured, "The statues are connected to each other and the ground."

"You see the threads of magic?" Xiaolang asked surprised.

Nivaline nodded sagely.

"As do you," she said quietly.

"Uhhh… okay Sabrina and Harry," Tomoyo muttered, "Let's just crank the door open and get rolling."

As one Nivaline and Xiaolang flung their hands out. The Angels and Eriol gasped in shock as green lines of light zipped all over the Terracotta Warriors linking them together. Like before slowly a light-lined star formed in the pit, encompassing the warriors before they began to move as the star shrunk and fell to the ground.

With agonising slowness, the opening once again sank down into the ground forming a ramp leading into the tomb.

"So…" Tomoyo said slowly, "Who wants to go down first."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett led the way, a ball of fire in his hands lightning up the dark twisting corridor. The Venom Squad quickened after him, their eyes darting side to side, their nerves screaming at them to flee back up to the light.

"Why am I thinking this is a very horrible idea?" Uri muttered, her voice creepily echoing down the hall.

"It is," Anthony growled back, "But it's an idea worth ten mill."

"Ah… here we are," Garrett's hissing voice floated down back to them as the Venom Squad hurried to follow him.

They stopped and stared up at the massive ornately carved stone doors standing in front of them. Garrett's smile widened and he waved his hands and barked out a guttural word.

The assassins jumped as the door slowly began to open, swinging inwards as the screech of stone grinding on stone filled the air and jarred the ears. With a final rumble, the doors stopped moving. Garrett stepped inside as shadows swallowed his fireball, the light barely reaching a metre ahead of him.

"Looks like your torchlight needs a little bit more juice," Uri sniggered.

Garrett glared at her before turning back to his flickering light.

"INFERNOS!" he roared.

The fireball flared into a massive orb of burning light as the assassins gasped in surprise. The whole cavern was thrown into the light now as gold and jade gleamed brightly ensnaring the eyes.

"Oh my God," Sandra gasped shocked into speech, "The legends are real."

The immense stone chamber soared above their heads, its walls inlaid with gold and jade and other gems glittering in the light. Around the edges of the room stood carved statues, their hands clutched around golden weapons still sharp after all these eons. But it wasn't these that drew the eyes it was what laid on the centre of the chamber floor covering almost all of its wide expanses.

"Legends?" Anthony stared at Sandra.

Sandra's dark eyes were staring at the floor in awe. It was covered in bronze but it wasn't smooth or polished to lustre, it was raised and contoured, shaped to look like the land with miniature mountains, valleys and ridges. Most astonishing of all, rivers were also carved into the bronze land but it wasn't filled with flowing water, it was filled with a silver liquid that meandered sluggishly across the bronze landscape.

"Mercury," Sandra murmured, "It's filled with mercury."

She turned to her fellow assassins.

"Legend has it that the First Emperor of China commissioned a relief map to be built in his tomb. The map was made from bronze and shaped to look like the landscape of China, the land which he ruled down to most minute detail. The story also goes that rivers were also carved into the map and it was filled with mercury and driven by some strange machine to flow like water."

She turned back to the bronze carving on the floor.

"It's real," she whispered faintly.

"Yes it is," Garrett sneered, "I'm glad you remember your history lessons dear Sandra."

Sandra quivered at his tone.

"But what I search for here isn't gems or gold," Garrett continued, "No, I'm searching for something much more important and the clues tell me to follow the rivers of metal."

He pointed and the Venom Squad turned to look, stretching out from the map a tiny river of mercury carved into the ground snaked under another set of stone doors on the far side of the chamber, disappearing deeper into the tomb.

"You want us to follow that?" Anthony exploded.

Garrett sneered at him.

"Are you man enough to follow?" he taunted.

Anthony huffed silently as Garrett whirled away from him and began to edge his way around the bronze relief map heading towards the opposite doors. Anthony turned to his cronies.

"We're following," he snapped.

"But…" Sandra began.

"We. Are. Following," Anthony gritted out.

He stalked off after the dark mage as Sandra and Uri glanced at one another. Verona immediately followed her boss as Sandra sighed.

"Guess Garrett hit a nerve huh?"

Uri sniggered.

"Well, Anthony's manhood is under attack" she sneered.

The two assassins turned to follow.

Suddenly the whole chamber rumbled almost sending them sprawling. Anthony looked up in alarm as Garrett cursed.

"Damn it!" he hissed, "Those damn Angels opened the door."

"So?" Anthony wanted to know.

Garrett glared at him.

"They're coming in. And they're coming after us."

Anthony sniggered.

"Let them," Anthony waved his hand around encompassing his three assassins, "My girls can take them on."

His smile turned cold.

"And take them down. Seven feet down that is."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang and Nivaline raced down the winding corridor as the Angels and Eriol raced after them.

"This way!" Xiaolang shouted.

Small balls of multi-coloured light flittered around them lighting their way like fireflies in the dark.

Tomoyo gasped as she saw the immense open doorway standing in front of them. All six of them screeched to a halt at the door and gaped inside.

"It's beautiful…" Michelle trailed off.  
But Xiaolang's eyes weren't on the intricacy of the bronze map but on the mercury rivers flowing along its contours.

"There!" he pointed.

Everyone's eyes followed his finger to the river disappearing through the doorway to the other side.

"Let's go!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Well…" Xiaolang seemed stumped.

He stood there staring at the three doorways right in front of him. At his feet, the mercury river split up into three streams, each flowing down the three separate hallways in front of him. This time the long winding paths were lit up by flaming torches set in brackets all along the walls.

"Umm… take a wild stab in the dark?" Meiling suggested.

Nivaline snorted before stepping up to the plate.

"Okay, Eriol, Tomoyo, you go left," she pointed down the fire-lit hallway to their left, "Michelle with Xiaolang. Meiling, you're with me."

"Sounds good," Tomoyo nodded.

Michelle sniggered.

"Remember guys we're after the bad guys here not to find some private place to make out," she taunted.

Tomoyo smiled sweetly at her.

"Michelle? Do shut up."

"Come on!" Xiaolang pressed urgently, "We don't have time to lose."

Grabbing Michelle's arm he darted off through the doorway right in front of them. Eriol and Tomoyo glanced at each other and nodded, they sprinted off down the left hallway. Meiling smiled at Nivaline.

"I guess it's just you and me now."

Nivaline grinned and the two ducked into the right doorway. Footsteps echoed down the three separate corridors as the Angels and their allies split up chasing after their enemies.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandra froze and cocked her head to the side.

"Stop," she commanded, shoving Verona back slightly.

The Russian woman straightened herself and waited as Sandra's eyes scan the walls, her lips moving as she muttered something silently to herself.

Her eyes widened.

"Oh son of a…" she began.

"HEY!"

Verona and Sandra whirled around. Michelle calmly pointed her metal quarterstaff at them in a challenge.

"Now we can do this the hard way or we can do this the violent way," she spat, "It's your choice."

Sandra's eyes flickered to Xiaolang who hefted his sword, dark eyes burning. A cold smile crossed her lips.

"Well, then," she calmly raised her whip, "Let's get to it then… shall we?"

With a cry, both sides charged at one another. Michelle whipped forwards, staff flying through the air but Verona caught it with her bare hands, swinging it and Michelle around throwing her into the wall. Michelle slid to the ground groaning in pain as behind Verona's bulking form, Sandra and Xiaolang met.

Xiaolang's sword slashed through the air but Sandra gracefully spun around the blade, shifting as the sword hit the ground and bounced off in a shower of sparks. A brutal kick slammed Xiaolang back as Sandra backed off a little, her face expressionless.

"I don't want to do this," she said, her voice drained of all emotions.

"Why, I guess you can just give up," Xiaolang spat.

He charged at her, sword ready to impale her but Sandra sidestepped his lunge shoving him in the back. Xiaolang hit the wall hard. Sandra stared as his body struck a brick of stone sliding it deep into the wall. Xiaolang, furious, failed to see it as he whirled around, sword raised.

A harsh grinding sound filled the air as everyone looked around in surprise. Michelle kicked Verona off her as she shakily stood up.

"What the…" she began.

Sandra's eyes widened.

"NO!" she screamed.

Xiaolang gaped in shock as Sandra flew at him. He raised his sword but was too slow to do anything as Sandra slammed into him. The two of them went flying, skidding across the ground as a huge block of carved rock suddenly fell from the ceiling crushing the ground when Xiaolang had just stood, effectively blocking off the hallway.

Michelle gaped as she realised she was now cut off from Xiaolang. Verona lunged at her as Michelle spun away, smacking the woman in the ribs with her staff.

On the other side of the rock, Xiaolang stared at Sandra in shock.

"You just saved me…" he whispered, "Why?"

Sandra was silent for a second but then she smirked.

"Because I want you all to myself," she grinned.

Xiaolang's eyes went cold as he slashed at her but Sandra lashed out with her whip. It cracked through the air, wrapping itself around the blade before she yanked her end of the whip ripping the sword from his hands. She threw the two weapons behind her before striking a battle stance.

Xiaolang took a similar pose.

Silence fell over them.

The fight was on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Uri calmly spun her daggers around in hands as she crouched near the wall, her ears perked for the slightest sound.

There.

She grinned.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Slowly she shifted, ready to pounce. Beside her, Anthony readied his sword.

They were ready.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo and Eriol charged down the hallway, their weapons in their hands. They approached a corner and whipped around it before…

"BOO!"

Tomoyo was blasted into a wall as Uri landed a vicious snap kick to her chest. She knocked her out with a spinning kick straight to the side of her face as Eriol lunged to help her. But Anthony was there, slashing down with his sword. Eriol was pressed backwards as Anthony's sword slammed down onto his own, jarring his arm.

With a growl, he straightened and feinted to the left before slashing in from the right. Anthony expertly deflected the blow before coming in with an overhead crescent slash but Eriol's sword was there, catching the blow before he twisted, trapping Anthony's sword with his own. Anthony bore down on him trying to force him down but Eriol borne up after his attack pushing up.

"Damn it!" Anthony hissed.

He scrambled for purchase as Eriol began to force him back.

"Mind if I cut in?" Uri drawled.

SMACK!

Eriol's head snapped backwards as Uri punched him square in the face. Anthony disentangled their swords as he kicked Eriol in the chest knocking him down.

Tomoyo slowly came to, blinking blearily as she tried to stand. She looked up and screamed.

"ERIOL!"

Uri laughed as she lunged forwards. Eriol cried out in pain as her hand flashed down. Uri's katana-style dagger ripped across his chest tearing through cloth and skin as blood spurted into the air. Anthony sniggered as Eriol stumbled backwards clutching the huge long cut across his body.

He paled, blood still gushing from his wounds.

"Tomo…" his voice gave way.

Tomoyo screamed again as he fell to the ground, eyes unfocused. For a split second, she just stared up him in horror but then she leapt to her feet, fury sparkling in her eyes.

Anthony whirled around and raised his sword but Tomoyo fell on him like a demon, tearing at him with her two sai daggers. Uri tried to step in but Tomoyo punched her away before whipping back to Anthony.

The Cobra Mark cell leader yelped in pain as Tomoyo's daggers ripped through his defences and bit deep into his wrist. His sword fell to the ground as Tomoyo snarled at him, teeth bared, eyes glittering.

"Die," she hissed.

Anthony screamed as Tomoyo lunge down, stabbing one of her daggers into his thigh. He fell to his knees as Tomoyo's other dagger slashed down, ripping a long thin cut across his cheek. Anthony cried out and slapped one hand across his face as he tried to fend her off with the other.

She brushed his hand aside and backhanded viciously. Rearing back, she suckerpunched him. Anthony hit the deck, knocked out cold as Tomoyo whirled on Uri.

The assassin scrambled to her feet as Tomoyo growled at her.

"You're next."

With a feral cry, she charged straight at her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"PWHIP! PWHIP! PWHIP!"

With a cry, Meiling hit the ground as arrows zipped past overhead, clattering against the wall before falling to the ground. Shakily she stood up.

"What the hell?!" she blared at Nivaline.

Nivaline smiled apologetically.

"Did I forget to mention that this tomb is booby trapped?" she offered gingerly.

Meiling glared at her.

"Yes, I think you did forget to mention that this tomb is bloody booby trapped," she hissed back.

"Whoops."

Meiling growled under her breath as she turned back to the long winding rocky passage.

"Okay, so what now?" she demanded.

"Be on your highest alert," Nivaline said calmly.

She smiled impishly.

"And watch where you walk."

Meiling narrowed her eyes but said nothing as she carefully took a step forwards, her eyes darting towards the slits in the wall where arrows had shot out at her from before but this time nothing happened. With a sigh of relief, she continued forwards.

They walk for some time, following the meandering path, the small river of mercury trickling underfoot. Finally Meiling stopped.

Before her stood a huge cavern, its interior unlit and swallowed by darkness. Frowning, she reached back and yanked one of the flaming torches from its bracket.

"Careful," Nivaline warned, her hazel-green eyes studying the darkness.

Cautiously the Angel and former Angel stepped into the cavern, the meagre firelight revealing little of the room.

"Wait," Nivaline held her hands up, "GUANG!"  
Light flared and flooded the room as Meiling cursed. The cavern was a dead end, the stream of mercury flowed into a small hole in the centre of the room and pooled there. Beyond that there was only an immense intricately carved wall.

"Seems like we've gone the wrong way," Nivaline murmured as she strolled over to the wall.

She studied it, frowning as Meiling scanned the cavern trying to look for any doorways but there was none.

She sighed.

"Guess we have to turn ba…"

"CLICK!"

Meiling whirled around. Nivaline jumped away from the way, eyes wide.

"What happened?" Meiling demanded.

"I just touched the wall and I think I pressed something!" Nivaline gasped.

Suddenly the room began to shake violently. Debris fell from the ceiling as the two women stared at one another.

"RUN!" Meiling cried.

They raced for the doorway but suddenly a slab of stone slid out from the wall sealing the entrance shut. Meiling slammed into the stone barrier and hammered at it with her fists but it refused to budge.

"Stand back!" Nivaline cried.

Meiling jumped away as Nivaline pointed at the stone.

"XUE!"

A blast of ice hit the stone door but instead of obliterating it, the stone let out a burst of violet light, strange arcane symbols lighting up. The light flared and Nivaline was hurled backwards into the far wall.

"Nive!" Meiling raced over to her.

Nivaline was flat on her back, facing the ceiling. With a groan her eyes opened and she paled.

"Umm…" she said slowly, "Is it just me or is the ceiling falling?"

Meiling looked up. Sure enough, the ceiling was lowering itself slowly and steadily. The screech of stone grinding on stone irritated her ears as the ceiling continued to drop, bearing down on them.

She cursed wildly.

They were going to be crushed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle whipped her quarterstaff around and let the end flying striking Verona solidly in the chest. The Russian woman fell back but quickly recovering. She stomped forwards swatting Michelle back when the Angel tried to flying in for another attack. Michelle fell backwards, flailing for balance. Her elbow hit the wall and she froze as the brick she hit slid smoothly into the wall.

The hall began shaking as Michelle blanched.

"Now why do I think that's not a good sign," she muttered.

She stumbled backwards almost falling over the unsteady ground as Verona advanced dangerously, ivory mask gleaming in the torchlight.

Michelle gulped and lashed out with her quarterstaff.

"BANG!"

"TANG!"

The whole hall shook as her staff bounced off something hard. Dust plumed into the air blinding the Angel as she flailed, coughing wildly. The debris slowly settled and she could finally see again.

She gaped staring at the huge block of stone that had plummeted down from the ceiling, falling neatly between her and Verona, cutting the assassin off from her. It effectively trapped the towering Russian between this block and other one that had fallen before. Michelle stood there stunned.

"Huh," she muttered.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang flinched as the whole hall shook violently. There was thunderous bang then all was still and silent again. Sandra recovered her balance before resuming her stance again.

With a cry, Xiaolang pounced forwards but Sandra dodged his punch, bouncing off the wall before landing a spinning kick straight to his face. Xiaolang fell backwards as Sandra landed lightly as graceful as a jungle cat.

"You are good," Xiaolang admitted reluctantly.

"I am the best," Sandra told him, smirking.

Xiaolang smiled viciously back before lunging forwards. Sandra blocked his right hook then grabbed his left, pushing it down to his side. She tried to knee him but Xiaolang trapped her leg between his own. They struggled against one another trying to break the deadlock.

"Well, this is interesting," Xiaolang grinned into her face.

"Hardly," Sandra sniffed.

She head-butted him before shoving him back, springing free from his grip. Xiaolang recovered quickly, catching her foot as she tried to crescent kick him in the chest. He threw her to the ground but Sandra turned the throw into an elegant horizontal twirl before hitting the ground and lashing out, leg sweeping him to the ground.

They both jumped up and glared at one another.

"BAM!"

"BAM!"

In synchronisation, they lashed out with their foot ploughing into each other in exactly the same spot. Sandra and Xiaolang were both sent flying backwards by the blow, hitting and sliding across the rough rocky ground.

Sandra's back smacked into the stony slab blocking the hallway. The blow jarred her spine, sending bursts of pain shooting up her back but she flipped onto her feet before charging at Xiaolang who was still slowly getting up.

"YAH!" she cried, leaping through the air in a flying kick.

Xiaolang was faster grabbing onto her ankle and throwing her into the wall. Hard.

Sandra bounced off, smashing into the ground as Xiaolang grabbed her arm twisting it painfully behind her back. The Venom Squad assassins struggled for leverage but Xiaolang tightened his grip, pain roaring down her limb.

"That's right!" Xiaolang screamed, his eyes burning, "Feel the pain!"

Sandra gritted her teeth, writhing on the floor as mangled whimpers escaped her lips. Xiaolang's face was so contorted with rage it seemed barely human. Sandra suddenly fell silent going, limp in his grip.

Xiaolang blinked, surprised.

"I was there you know."

"Wha?" Xiaolang stared at his victim in confusion.

Sandra pushed past her pain and managed to twist her head to stare at him. Xiaolang stared down at her veiled face.

She forced herself to smile.

"I was there when your little girlfriend died," Sandra smirked, "I watched her burn."

"NO!"

Furious, Xiaolang threw her arm aside and fell on her, slamming his fist down into her. Sandra calmly caught his fists and hurled him aside before shakily climbing to her feet, shaking her mangled arm out.

"I watched her die," she hissed.

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Fuelled by rage, Xiaolang leapt forwards all technique and finesse gone in his punches and kicks. Sakura Kinomoto braced herself as her grief-ridden ex-boyfriend hurled himself at her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"ARGH!" Meiling yelled, panicking.

"Panic later, save ourselves now!" Nivaline commanded leaping to her feet.

The ceiling continued it descent inexorably getting closer and closer, they were minutes away from being made into meat paste.

Nivaline raised her hands and focused.

"HUO!" she screamed.

Fire lashed out, hitting the ceiling but it merely blackened the rocks. Nivaline wilted.

"Okay… not what I wanted," Nivaline muttered.

Meiling desperately looked around, her eyes fell on the carved walls.

"What did you do to activate the death trap?" Meiling demanded.

"I touched the carvings," Nivaline turned to the wall, "That one!"

As the ceiling continued to drop, Meiling rushed over to the wall and studied it. This close to the carvings, she could see that a part of the stone had sunken into the wall. That must have activated the dropping ceiling. Desperately she began pushing the wall at random hoping to stop the drop. Her hand hit another part of the carving and it slid smoothly into the stone.

"SCHINK!"

She looked up and paled.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Nivaline yelped.

Now huge metal spikes adorned the ceiling.

"Great. Now we going to be impaled then mashed," she muttered.

Nivaline was beside her, also hitting the wall at random. Finally she managed to sink another stone into the wall.

"Let's hope this does something," she cried to Meiling over the rumbling.

The spikes and the ceiling were now uncomfortably close. Both women froze as they felt the ground rumbling beneath their feet.

"What the…" Meiling began.

"WAH!"

Suddenly the stone tiles beneath their feet fell away and the two women were sent flying deep down into darkness beneath.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Uri stumbled backwards, crashing to the ground as Tomoyo advanced, her bloodied sai daggers in her hand.

"Get up," Tomoyo's voice lashed out like a whip, "Get. Up."

Gulping, Uri scrambled to her feet, pointing her daggers out desperately. Tomoyo grinned maliciously, eyes dark as she took a step forwards.

"Time you pay," Tomoyo growled.

With a cry, Uri leapt forwards, slashing with her daggers. Tomoyo deftly blocked her blows, playing with the woman before punching Uri straight in the face. The assassin fell to the ground as Tomoyo sniggered and raised her daggers.

Uri frantically raised her blades trying to defend herself as Tomoyo slashed down.

"ARGH!"

Uri screamed as the blades bit deep into her arms. Her daggers fell from her fingers as she scrambled backwards trying to avoid her attack. Tomoyo's eyes seemed black in the torchlight as she sashayed forwards, her sniggering laughter echoing all around the hallway.

Uri's searching fingers fell on a loose piece of rock, screeching she hurled it straight at Tomoyo. The Angel easily deflected the rock away with her daggers. The stone ricocheted off and struck the wall pushing one of the bricks into the stone.

Uri blinked in surprise at the sight.

Tomoyo took another step forwards.

"PWHIP! PWHIP! PWHIP!"

"TANG!"

Uri gasped as a section of the wall slid away revealing long dark slits. Arrows shot out from the slits, zipping through the air before burying itself into its target.

Tomoyo's mouth dropped open as the arrows ripped into her body, piercing her chest and limbs as the sai daggers fell from her hand.

She staggered backwards, blood spilling from her wounds and mouth as she clutched desperately at the arrows sticking out from her body.

Finally she toppled over to the ground.

Uri slowly crawled to her feet.  
"She's dead…" she murmured disbelievingly to herself, "She's dead!"

Her pink eyes lit up.

"Take that!" she sneered, "I won!"

"Au contraire."

Uri froze.

Tomoyo sat up, her eyes completely black. Calmly she stood up as though the arrows buried deep inside her body were nothing more than mere flesh wounds. Uri stumbled backwards, gaping as 'Tomoyo' grinned toothily at her.

Smirking into Uri's stunned eyes, the dark-eyed Tomoyo began pulling the arrows from her body, wincing, as the metal arrowheads were ripped free from her flesh.

"Wha… what are you?"

Tomoyo's grin widened

"Something you really don't want to mess with."

Malice and glee seemed to roll off this strange creature in tangible waves as her dark eyes glittered. Still smiling, she hefted one of the arrows she had pulled from her own body. The bloody wounds were already healing up.

"Here. Catch."

Uri screamed as Tomoyo threw the arrow straight at her, burying it into her gut. The assassin fell to the ground as Tomoyo sniggered.

"Now to quote you earlier…" she took a deep breath, "I won!"

And Uri slumped to the ground.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandra smacked into the wall as Xiaolang barrelled into her, fists flailing. His eyes were now frenzied and maniacal, his face barely human. Sandra spun away from his next blow. Xiaolang's fist smashed into the wall but he didn't even seem to notice the pain as he whirled on her.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screamed.

Sandra calmly caught his wrists and twisted, trapping it against his chest as she dragged him closer to her.

"You are not going to win this fight by going crazy," Sandra warned him sternly.

Xiaolang spat into her veiled face. Sandra ignored the spittle, as she looked deep into his dark amber eyes.

"Did you love her?" she asked.

The fight seem to go out of Xiaolang briefly as he slumped in her arms.

"She was my everything," he said desperately, "And now she's gone."

His face hardened.

"Thanks to your boss!"

Xiaolang wrenched himself away from her. The two began to circle each other warily.

"I was there you know. Watching through the surveillance cameras," Sandra said calmly.

"Why are you telling me this?!" Xiaolang roared.

"You need to know," Sandra replied.

Xiaolang growled and charged at her but Sandra easily flipped over him, landing behind him before kicking him into the wall.

"She was scared and frightened and frantic but in those last seconds… she was calm," Sandra continued.

Xiaolang whirled around, his face a vibrant red.

"She talked in those last moments," Sandra said quietly, "Hoping that someone would hear her… pass the message along."

That stopped Xiaolang.

"Message?" his voice broke.

Sandra nodded.

"She said… she said 'If you can hear this please tell him… please tell my Xiaolang that I love him. Now and forever… not matter what happens and that I want him to go on… without me. I want him to be strong and live and find love again…'" Sandra 's dark eyes drilled into Xiaolang's amber ones, "'…for me'."

Xiaolang's fists were not limp by his side as he stared at Sandra, his whole body trembling as he fought with his own emotions.

"She also said that she knows it will be hard and difficult for you but she believes in you and that maybe one day she hopes she'll be able to be with you again…" Sandra trailed off, "Those were her last words."

"You lie," Xiaolang was crying, "You're lying."

"It's the truth," Sandra whispered.

Xiaolang peered into her eyes trying desperately to see if she was telling the truth. What he saw there shook him. Compassion, sorrow, regret… it was all there but the thing that stopped him was sincerity.

She was telling the truth.

Sakura did want him to go on… without her.

"Why are you telling me this?" he murmured.

Sandra shrugged.

"As a sign of respect for a worthy opponent, I guess or…" Sandra paused, "I have my own reasons."

Xiaolang was quiet as he stared at the ground, his girlfriend's last words swirling in his mind.

"I thank you for what you just did."

He looked up, eyes cold.

"But it changes nothing between us."

"I know," Sandra replied, "So let's finish this."

Xiaolang leapt forwards, punching and kicking. Sandra dodged and blocked, landing a vicious right hook to his face before kicking him backwards. Xiaolang flailed as Sandra descended on him.

A swift kick knocked his arm out of the way as she grabbed his other and hurled him into the wall.

"Sorry," she murmured.

A swift chop to the neck in the right spot had him out like a blown light. Xiaolang's eyes fluttered and he slumped to the ground as Sandra stood over him, eyes pained and sorrowful.

"I'm sorry Xiaolang," she murmured, "I'm so sorry for what I'm putting you through but…"

Sakura Kinomoto looked away.

"I must… everything depends on me," she swallowed thickly, "Please… forgive me."

Slowly she turned around and walked away, tears spilling down her face.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Ugh…" Meiling lifted her face from the ground, "Ugh."

She slowly pushed herself up off the floor and looked around. Beside her Nivaline was also staggering to her feet.

"I think we just hit the jackpot," Meiling murmured, awed.

More fiery torches lit up the huge chamber, their flickering lights gleaming off gold and jade statues. Meiling stumbled forwards, her eyes wide with shock trying to take everything in. Every inch of the ceiling, walls and floor were inlaid with gold and precious gems, the walls lined with huge statues carved from gleaming stones. Chests laid open on the ground, their gold and silver contents spilling out onto the gem tiles. This chamber was a place of unimaginable riches, unparalleled by anything else in the world.

"So Nivaline…" Meiling began, "Stop Garret now and loot later?"

Nivaline rolled her eyes before turning to the far side of the chamber.

"There!" she pointed at a huge set of open stone doors, "Through there!"

The two women sprinted across the opulent chamber, Meiling still trying to take it all in as Nivaline concentrated on the task at hand.

"BOOM!"

The whole chamber shook as a dull explosion ripped through the air. With a weary glance at one another, Nivaline and Meiling increased their speed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett waved his hand again.

"BOOM!"

Another chunk of the wall detonated and fell away as he focused again, trying to widen the hole he had already made in the thick stonewall.

"BOOM!"

Bricks were turned into dust and gravel as Garrett chuckled before climbing through the hole he had made.

"Well, hello there," he sniggered as he stepped into a small dark hidden chamber.

He took a step forwards but suddenly froze. With a cry, he leapt backwards as a burst of light filled the room.

"WHOOSH!"

A wall of flames gushed out from the floor cutting him off from rest of the chamber. Growling in frustration, he shoved his hands forwards and muttered a word beneath his breath.

The flames instantly turned into ice as Garrett focused again. The ice shattered as the dark mage stepped through, ice crunching underfoot.

"So here it is… the second part of the Word of Four," Garrett mused to himself.

He walked up to the stone pedestal in the centre of the room and reverently held out his hands. His long bony fingers closed around the stone tablet lying on the pedestal and slowly he pulled it away.

Suddenly a dull grinding sound filled the air, echoing around the room.

He froze.

Tense seconds went by but nothing happened. Relaxing, he smiled, glancing down at the tablet. On it a scrawl of arcane symbols was carved deep into the stone.

Clutching it to his bony chest, he moved to turn around.

"I'm sorry…"

He whirled around. Meiling and Nivaline glared at him from their position near the hole to the chamber.

"… but we really must insist that you stay."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandra charged down the hallway but she stopped and swore.

"God damn son of a…"

She scowled up at the huge wall that stood in her way.

It was a dead-end.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo slowly sashayed over to where her boyfriend lay, his eyes closed, his wound still sluggishly bleeding. Kicking the unconscious Anthony away with her feet, she towered over Eriol, her dark eyes thoughtful.

She sighed.

"Well, I guess it's time for lil' Miss Goody Goody to come out again," she muttered.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and they were back to their normal light lavender colour. Tomoyo started, staring around in confusion until her eyes fell on Eriol.

"Eriol!" she cried, throwing herself down onto her boyfriend.

She hissed as she saw his deep wound but quickly calmed herself. Grabbing onto her torn shirt, she tore a huge part of it away. Wadding it up, she pressed the makeshift bandage against Eriol's wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. Using another piece of fabric, she bound it to his chest.

"That should hold," she muttered to herself getting up off the ground.

Slowly she dragged him up, leaning him against her shoulder. Eriol mumbled weakly but still slipped back into unconsciousness as Tomoyo studied his face worriedly.

"Don't worry," she whispered, "I'll get you out of here. Just stay alive damn it!"

Slowly she began to drag him out towards the exit.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett snorted derisively.

"You two? You're not even worth the time I waste in killing you," the dark mage sneered.

Meiling merely swung her nunchucks around in response, a danger smile on her face. Garrett rolled his eyes.

"Come on then," he sighed, "Let's finish this."

With a cry, Nivaline and Meiling leapt forwards.

Garrett narrowed his eyes.

"POW!"

A wave of black energy ripped through the air straight at Meiling but Nivaline was there, throwing up a shield of shimmering green light that neutralised the blow. Garrett was already in motion, sweeping his hand outwards. Two more shimmering balls of energy blasted forwards, Nivaline shoved Meiling backwards as she focused again conjuring up her shield.

Garrett smirked and slashed the air with his hands.

Nivaline blinked in surprise as a jet of red light ripped through her magic leaving her defenceless. Meiling's eyes widened in shock.

"NIVE!" she screamed.

"One down," Garrett hissed.

"BOOM!"

The twin balls of black energy crashed into Nivaline, exploding on impact. The older woman was hurled up against the wall before she crashed to the ground in a broken smoking heap.

Meiling stared at her for a stunned second before whirling back on Garrett, bloodlust in her eyes.

"That's it!" she screamed, "Fight me!"

She charged forwards, nunchucks spinning through the air but Garrett was more than her match.

With a wave of his hands, an invisible force slapped the weapon from her hands sending it flying to the ground. Another blast of invisible force shoved her up against the wall, pinning her there.

"You know this has been fun and all but I've got places to go, people to defile," Garrett sneered, "So excuse me if I make this quick."

"Go to he…" Meiling began.

Garret narrowed his eyes and flung his hands around. Meiling was thrown all around the chamber, smacking into the walls and ceiling with brutal force. With a final flick of his fingers, she crashed to the ground with a moan.

Sniggering, Garrett released his magical hold as Meiling groaned and slumped to the stony floor, out cold.

With a mocking wave, he moved to leave the room.

"BOOM!"

He whirled around as a brick from the stone chamber suddenly blew inwards, smacking against the far wall. Dark water suddenly gushed out from the gap as more bricks went flying.

Garrett's eyes widened as he realised what the deep grinding sound before what meant. The whole tomb was booby-trapped!

He closed his eyes and focused.

As more water gushed into the chamber, exploding out of the walls, Garrett Huss disappeared in a burst of dark light leaving behind two unconscious women to drown to their deaths.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandra barrelled down the halls as she swore loudly. Bricks exploded out from the wall all around her as she ducked and ran, huge jets of water slapping her around violently.

Finally she made it to where Xiaolang lay, slumped to the ground, out cold. Leaping over his body, she slammed her fist against the stone block jamming the hallway but it was useless. She was trapped.

"Damn," she hissed.

She turned to Xiaolang and reached out with one hand. Wrapping her fingers around his arm, she used her free hand to root around in her clothing. She looked upwards. A dark wave of water was roaring down the hall straight at her.

"Come on. Come on. Come on," she muttered frantically, "AHA!"

Sandra pulled out a small chip of clear crystal from her jacket and held it aloft as the water continued to bear down on her.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated.

Gold light exploded out from the crystal, wreathing her body as she clung Xiaolang to her.

With a loud pop, the two disappeared, teleported away by magic as the water crashed into the stone block, raging away at the rock.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle raced down the hallway making it back to where section where she had split up with her friends. Frantically she looked around, trying to spot her allies. All around her, water was blasting out from the walls, lapping at her feet.

"Michelle!"

She whirled around.

Tomoyo was hobbling out of one of the hallways; Eriol slumped against her.

"What happened?" Michelle demanded.

"Uri got to him!" Tomoyo cried over the deafening roar of the water, "Where're the others?"

"I got separated from Xiaolang!" Michelle cried helplessly, "And I haven't seen Meiling or Nivaline!"

Tomoyo glanced down the hallway the two had disappeared in, the fire torches had been extinguished by the water plunging the corridor into darkness.

"We haven't got time to get them," Tomoyo screamed, "We've got to go! Help me with Eriol!"

Michelle nodded and was instantly at Tomoyo's side, helping her drag Eriol along as they escaped from the flooding tomb.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Water slapped against Nivaline's face as she slowly came to. She pulled herself up, her body screaming in pain as she looked around and paled. Water was bursting out from hundreds of holes in the walls, the strength of the flow tearing bricks away from their places.

She swept the room trying to find Garrett but he was long gone. Her eyes fell on Meiling.

"Meiling!" she splashed over to her friend, the water already around her ankles, "Come on!"

Meiling glanced up groggily, her face battered and bruised.

"What's happening?" she whimpered.

"We've got to go!" Nivaline cried.

She dragged Meiling out of the chamber and was about to climb out of the hole but froze realising the water outside was higher already lapping around the bottom edge of the hole, which was at chest height.

She swore.

"We'll never make it out this way," she gritted her teeth, "Hold on!"

Closing her eyes, she focused. Green light surged through the chamber as the two of them disappeared away.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sandra gently lowered Xiaolang to the ground. Stretching, she opened her hand and watched as the crystal she had used to teleport with crumbled to dust in her palm. With a sigh, she brushed the dust away before looking around, she was standing at the entrance of the tomb but there was no one around. Cursing, she looked back down at the ramp leading to the tomb, torn.

Suddenly orbs of black light surrounded her body as she paled.

"Garrett!"

Before she had time to react, she was already dragged away, disappearing in a heartbeat.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett clapped his hands and the Venom Squad members suddenly appeared before him. Two of them were out: Anthony with a nasty bruise to his face, Uri with an arrow in her gut.

Verona was soaked through but she was still standing and Sandra seemed fine.

"Get the wounded," he snarled at Sandra, "We've leaving."

Whirling around, he stalked away, the stone tablet clutched to his chest.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Water filled her world as Michelle kicked towards what she hoped was the surface. She, Tomoyo and Eriol had almost made it to the exit but the water had caught up, flooding the whole hallway, they were forced to swim to the surface. Struggling with the strong currents that ripped at her body, Michelle continued to kick.

There!  
A patch of light!

With renewed strength, she surged the last few metres.

"PWHOOSH!"

Michelle gasped for breath as she finally burst through to the surface. Strong hands grabbed her and pulled her to safety. Wearily she looked around. Tomoyo and Eriol were already out, the grey-haired Angel frantically making sure Eriol was still breathing.

"What happened?" she demanded.

Nivaline sighed, her face badly cut.

"Garrett got the prophecy… it was written on a stone tablet. He grabbed it and triggered the trap…" she pointed at the water lapping at the edge of the entrance, "We were lucky to escape."

"Wait…" Michelle stared at her, "Garrett got it?!"

Nivaline smiled sadly.

"Yeah. We lost."

The sun was coming up now, its bright rays piercing the windows as it crawled its way above the horizon line. Bathed in dawn's golden light, Michelle whirled around wildly looking at Nivaline, then at Meiling, then at Xiaolang who was slowly coming to.

They all had the same look on their face:

Defeat.

They had lost.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


	15. The Lonely Tale of Michelle Hutton

**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 14: The lonely tale of Michelle Hutton**

**  
**_Flashback _

"So Michelle, what do you want to be when you grow up?" the teacher smiled kindly.

The six-year-old Michelle glared up at her teacher, her blue eyes stormy.

"Michelle?" the teacher urged.

Michelle let out an adult sigh.

"I want to be someone," she said finally.

The teacher frowned in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"I want to be someone," Michelle repeated.

She smiled bitterly, her childish features contorted into a dark light that was chillingly too adult for a child of her age.

"Unlike my mother," Michelle muttered, "Stupid bitch."

The teacher's eyes bulged.

"MICHELLE HUTTON!"

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"MICHELLE!"

Michelle whirled around. Her mouth opened in shock as a tall African American woman ran up to her, smiling and waving frantically.

"Oh my god," Michelle gasped finally, "Indy!"

Indy smiled and grabbed her old friend up in a tight hug. She let go of her and took a step back, studying Michelle's face carefully.

"Where have you been girl?" Indy demanded beaming widely, "You left town all of a sudden and no one knew where you where! I still can't believe I'd find you here of all places!"

Michelle shrugged.

"Yeah, I live here now," she smiled, "What are you doing here?"

Indy sniggered and twirled around in the middle of the busy sidewalk. Michelle instantly noticed that several nearby men stopped to stare at the long-legged beauty that was showing off near them and couldn't help but laugh. Her old friend could always draw attention everywhere she went.

"You're looking at the latest model to grace the international catwalk!" Indy announced proudly.

Michelle stared at her.

"For real?" she demanded.

Indy laughed.

"Duh!" she smirked, "So there I was working at the local diner back home when a modelling exec who was waylaid by his broken car happened to come in for a cup of coffee whilst he was waiting for a tow truck. He saw lil' old me and voila! Here I am living the American dream!"

"A house with white picket fences and two point five kids?" Michelle teased.

Indy snorted.

"Puh-leese, I mean getting paid millions to wear dresses and look beautiful," Indy paused, "Well, getting paid thousands but don't you worry the millions will come."

She smiled and studied Michelle's blue eyes carefully.

"I still can't believe you're here… everyone back home thought you…" she bit her lip and squirmed, "Well, it's nothing…"

"Thought what?" Michelle pressed.

Indy sighed.

"Well, with your track record and everything… everyone thought you ended up in jail or got shot," Indy laughed nervously, "Well, everyone that is aside from Mama Kella…"

Indy suddenly stopped, an odd look coming over her face. Michelle stared at her.

"What?" she demanded.

Indy cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"You haven't heard from home… have you?" she asked carefully.

Michelle shook her head.

"No…"

Indy grabbed Michelle's arms and stared at her gravely.

"Michelle… something happened to Mama Kella…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

The six-year-old Michelle stalked down the dusty town street, her face creased into a deep scowl. Grumbling under her breath, she kicked a stone out of her way.

"Michelle?" a light singsong voice called out to her.

Michelle looked up. A matronly plump African American woman smiled down at her from her perch on her old wooden porch.

"Somethin' wrong honey?" she asked.

Michelle sighed.

"Nothing Mama Kella," she called out.

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"It ain't nothin'?" she repeated, "Well, that's about the biggest pack of lies I ever heard in me life. Come child, sit with Mama Kella and tell her what's wrong."

Michelle swayed on the spot, unsure. Mama Kella smiled.

"I've got sugar cookies," she coaxed.

Beaming, Michelle ran up to her porch.

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo looked up wearily as the front door swung open. Michelle stepped into the house, a bag of groceries in one hand, a small plastic bag in the other.

"How is he?" she called out gently.

Tomoyo sighed and glanced down at her boyfriend. Eriol was laid out on the bed, his chest neatly bandaged.

"He's resting. Nivaline worked something healing mojo and he seems to be patching up some…" Tomoyo shook her head, "You got more bandages?"

Michelle threw her the small plastic bag as she laid the groceries down on a nearby table.

"How's Nivaline and the others?" Michelle asked quietly.

Tomoyo sighed.

"Meiling and Nivaline's still badly bruised from Garrett's attack on them and Xiaolang's acting really weird for some reason. He's gone all quiet and brooding," Tomoyo pursed her lips, "I was going to go over and talk to him today but he's not answering his phone…"

"Maybe you should just leave him alone," Michelle suggested gently, "Xiaolang isn't really one for sharing his feelings around."

"You're right," Tomoyo admitted resignedly.

Tomoyo turned and looked at her friendly properly for the first time. She frowned.

"What's wrong?" she demanded.

"Wha?" Michelle blinked.

"Something's bothering you," Tomoyo said bluntly, "You've got that look."

"Look?" Michelle stalled.

"Your eyes go all weird when you're trying to suppress your emotions," Tomoyo smirked, "So what's up?"

Michelle sighed.

"I know this sounds really selfish and everything but I really need to do this. I mean I really don't want to but it's more of a duty I have to do. It's a long story really but I really don't have time and…" Michelle trailed off, realising she was babbling, "I have to head off for a few days."

"Head off? Where?" Tomoyo asked, startled.

Michelle sighed and opened her mouth to reply.

"Home," she said simply.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling sat by the window staring moodily out into the stormy sky outside; the solemn look on her face a perfect reflection of the dull grey clouds.

"Your impersonation of a statue is quite impressive," a familiar voice murmured.

Meiling glanced around and a small ghostly smile flitted across her face.

"What's wrong?" Marcus asked as he sat down beside her.

Almost by instinct, his arms went around her as Meiling leaned into him allowing his love and compassion to sweep through her chasing her fears away.  
They sat there together for a long time, silent.

Finally Meiling spoke.

"I'm afraid," she admitted reluctantly.

Marcus looked at her gravely, his dark eyes steady.

"Is this because of what happened in China?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, sort of but it's more than that… it's just…" Meiling bit her lip and looked away, "Nothing."

Marcus raised his hand and gently turned her face back towards him.

"Tell me," Marcus commanded quietly.

"Did you imagine we would be married by now?" Meiling asked.

Marcus blinked, surprised.

"Okay, I'm going to sound like an idiot but huh?"

Meiling laughed quietly.

"Before I mean," Meiling said, "When you proposed to me four years ago, did you think we'd be married before now?"

Marcus was silent, mulling the question over in his head.

"Yeah, I kinda did," Marcus admitted, "I imagined it would've taken us two years to get married… max. Why?"

"It's just… you do know why we didn't right… get married I mean," Meiling shifted uncomfortably.

She rarely liked talking about her feelings. They were just some complicated and hard to understand and tiresome and annoying and… she had mentioned complicated right?

"Sakura," Marcus said quietly, knowing this was a touchy subject with her, "Sakura… died and it you… us a long time to heal from that. What's this got to do with what happened just now?"

Meiling sighed.

"I guess with just everything that's going on… the war we're having with the Venom Squad and the fact that we seem to be losing every time we go up against them has made me realised that… I'm mortal."

Marcus frowned.

"Meiling…"

Meiling cut him off.

"I know. It's stupid but I always saw myself as indestructo-chick you know? The kick-ass bad-ass who mowed down everything in her way but Sakura's death and now all these defeats just made me realise I'm not…" Meiling blinked as though shocked by her words as though by saying them out loud to someone made them all the more real, "I'm just me. Meiling Rae. The loud-mouthed girl with an almost disturbing like for violence. I can be beaten…"

She smiled bitterly.

"As though getting crunched by Verona time and time again hasn't proved that," she sobered quickly, "But the point is, I can be beaten. I can be hurt. I can be defeated and there's a distinct possibility I might die in battle just like Sakura."

She stared into Marcus's eyes.

"And I might leave you and Lily all alone, leave Lily motherless again and I can't bear that thought… maybe… maybe I should just… you know…" the last word was said in the tiniest of whispers, "Quit."

Marcus was stunned.

"Quit? Quit being an Angel?"

Meiling nodded.

"You know… stop this jetting around the world, fighting villains stuff. Just settle down and concentrate on you and Lily for once… I know I'm hardly around half the time…" she trailed off.

Marcus stared at her before bursting into laughter.

"What!?" Meiling demanded swatting him on the arm.

"Sorry, it's just… you settle down? Stop fighting the good fight?" Marcus chuckled, "I know you. You won't be able to and we… Lily and I get it. We get why you're gone sometimes and we accept it… heck we love you for it. We know you're a hero and that's who you're deep down inside, you can't stop being that anymore than you can stop breathing. It's just… you."

Marcus smiled and gently kissed on Meiling on the lips.

"And as for this mortal I'm-going-to-die stuff… yeah, I get that. Hell, I'm scared every time you leave you're not going to come back but then I remember that you're Meiling… an army of ninjas could stand in your way and you would plough them down without thinking."

Meiling smiled at his words as Marcus continued.  
"The Venom Squad is not going to beat you because I know in the end you'll kick their collective asses. Meiling… you're the strongest person I know… physically, mentally, emotionally you're the strongest. And you've got Tomoyo, Michelle and Xiaolang to back you up. Together you'll find a way to beat them in the end, I just know it," Marcus smiled wryly, "And besides if you do die I'll never talk to you again."

Meiling chuckled.

"Thanks," she murmured, her spirit bolstered again.

Her ruby eyes were flashing again with her inner fire and determination. She could feel a new strength flow through her veins. She smiled; the Venom Squad was going down.

Marcus smiled, seeing the fiery look on her face.

"That's my girl," he said fondly.

Meiling grinned at him and quickly captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Dust plumed around the shiny sleek red car as it sped its way down the packed dirt road. It began to slow as it neared its destination: a small country town known as Hope Falls.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The rickety door to the dinghy smoke-fill bar swung open. Framed in the doorway, a mere silhouette against the bright afternoon sun outside, a young woman surveyed the bar, her blue eyes scanning the stools until she spotted her prey.

Grinning, she strolled into the bar ignoring the leering glances that swept over her body.

Reaching her target, Michelle Hutton threw herself down onto the seat beside her victim.

The man looked up, saw her, paled and quickly looked back down again, trying in vain to pretend she didn't exist.

"Why Howard dah-ling," Michelle chirped in a fake Southern-accent, "You don't look happy to see lil' ol' me. Now why would that be?"

"I don't know nothing. Leave me alone," Howard growled.

"Now why doesn't your words inspire trust in me huh?" Michelle raised an eyebrow awaiting an answer but none was coming.

Her voice remained cheerfully despite the disappointment..

"Is it because I know you're a low-life creep who doesn't deserve to live?" she smiled, "Could it possibly be that?"

"Why are you back anyways?" Howard growled in response.

"Heard from a friend about Mama Kella," Michelle said coldly, "So I made a little call to the local hospital and guess what I heard? She got assaulted. And it made me wonder… now who on earth in this quiet peaceful little town will assault poor innocent kind-hearted Mama Kella? And guess which name I came up with?"

Howard still refused to talk, his eyes still stubbornly fixed on his beer. Michelle smiled a razor-blade grin when she spoke her voice was low and calm.

"Howard, I want to know where he is… now," the last word was laced with unspoken threats promising a great deal of pain.

There was long silence.

"I've been out of the biz for a while now. Haven't a clue," Howard muttered.

Michelle sighed.

"Howard, please. We both know you're lying because well… you're you. So please can we make this as painless as possible?"

Michelle raised an eyebrow but Howard was still stubbornly quiet. She sighed.

"Fine, let's do this your way."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

A sixteen-year-old Michelle Hutton raised an eyebrow, her blue-eyed gaze not wavering a single bit.

The store clerk raised an eyebrow at her.

They stared at each other, the clock on the wall behind the counter ticking away slowly.

"Fine!" Michelle sighed throwing her arms up in disgust.

She snatched her fake I.D. from the hands of the clerk.

"No beer then. Can I have a coke?"

The clerk reached into the fridge behind him and pulled a bottle out. Michelle grumpily gave him the money before stalking out of the store.

"Stupid assholes…" she swore opening her coke and taking a swig, "Can't believe they…"

She turned the corner and slowed, a smirk crossing her face. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a packet of cigarettes.

"Dumbass didn't even see me steal these," Michelle crowed, "Another score for the shop-lifting extraordinaire!"

Pulling one of her stolen cigarettes out, she patted her pockets for a lighter.

"Michelle Hutton?"

Michelle whirled around and stared at the speaker suspiciously.

"What?" she demanded, her cigarette stuck firmly between her teeth.

Howard smiled at her.

"I saw what you did back there in the store… with the shoplifting I mean," he clarified, "Not the trying to buy a beer with a fake I.D."

Michelle shrugged.

"Didn't even really want it," she scowled.

"You have very fine technique," Howard continued, "I wasn't even sure you took anything. You're very deft at stealing."

"A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do to get some life luxuries," Michelle shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Wait, are you a cop?"

Howard laughed.

"No way! I'm too cool to be a cop," Howard's smile broadened, "But nice to see you're alert."

He sobered.

"No, I'm here to offer you a job offer."

"Not interested," Michelle said flatly as she turned to leave.

"How much money do you make from stealing cigarettes and selling it to kids? A buck a pop? Two bucks? Aren't you tried of making small change?" Howard called after her, "Cos, I can change all that."

Michelle slowed.

"The way I see it you can do it your way and stay with your loser mom and be forced to scrounge for food everyday or you can do it my way and live the good life."

Michelle began to turn around.

"So what is it kiddo?" Howard smirked, "Your way or mine?"

_End of flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"CRASH!!"

The bar window-front shattered as Howard was hurled through the glass. Angry cries echoed inside the bar as Michelle carefully stepped out through the broken window frame.

Howard looked up at her, a terrified look on his bleeding face as Michelle smiled down at him.

"Come on Howard… where is he?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Taking a deep long breath and holding it, Nivaline slowly raised her left hand. Green light spilled from her fingertips and drifted down onto the map spread out in front of her in hazy waves, bathing the paper in an emerald glow.

A frown came over her face as she concentrated, a drop of sweat rolling down her alabaster cheeks.

She gritted her teeth and grunted softly as the green light intensified, an invisible breeze swept her hair from her face as slowly a pinpoint of yellow light began emerge from the map.

Smiling, Nivaline opened her eyes, her magic fading away.

"There, fina…" she trailed off as more pinpoints of yellow light began to form all over the map until its was glowing with dozens of little light spots.

The yellow light intensified glowing angrily as smoke began to curl up from the page.

"Not again!" Nivaline wailed.

The map instantly burst into flames as Nivaline let out a growl of anger.

"MOVE!" Tomoyo yelled.

Nivaline leapt backwards as Tomoyo aimed and fired.

"PHWOOSH!!"

The fire extinguisher immediately dampened the fire flinging the last smoking fragments of the map all over the floor.

"No luck?" Tomoyo asked.

Nivaline growled in frustration.

"I almost had a lock on him!" she snarled, "Damn! I can't believe I can't scry him!"

"Umm… I don't want to be all pessimistic but can we not do this?" Tomoyo asked, "I don't think my carpeting can take anymore burning debris and foam."

Nivaline sighed.

"You're right… I'll trying again later."

With a long groan, she threw herself onto the sofa and stared moodily at the burnt out map.

"How's Eriol?" she asked.

"Healing," Tomoyo paused, "Can't you heal him? I mean you did a bit but can't you heal him all the way?"

Nivaline shook her head.

"Can't. The body has to heal by itself. Magic can only take you so far. Well…" Nivaline bit her lips, "Most forms of earth magic anyway. Sakura's star key healing thingy used magic way beyond my control. Eriol's body has to heal itself otherwise well…"

She shrugged.

"The wound won't heal properly."

Tomoyo sighed.

"So what do we do now?"

"Umm… sit and wait?"

And so they did.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle's car pulled to a stop. Getting out, the blonde Angel stood for a few seconds studying the dilapidated mansion standing in front of her, its walls grimy with filth, its front door hanging off by the hinges. She shook herself.

"Well this place has certainly seen better days," Michelle muttered.

Cautiously she made her way to the cavernous front door and slipped inside.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

"Here we are!" Howard announced cheerfully.

Teenage Michelle looked up at the impressive mansion standing in front of her, its walls scrubbed to an almost painful white, its front door polished and gleaming.

"You brought me here?" she demanded, "To the richest house in Hope Falls?"

"Don't worry, they're expecting you," Howard reassured her.

They left the car and walked up to the front door. As soon as they reached it, it swung open, a blank-faced butler stepping aside as Howard shepherded Michelle inside.

"This way, quickly now, you don't want to keep the bossy waiting do ya?" Howard tugged her arm and led her deep into the house.

They travelled up a flight of spiralling stairs before stopping at a huge set of wooden doors. Howard knocked gently.

The door opened, this time by a burly rough-looking man but he too was silent as he stepped aside and allowed them to enter. Howard tugged Michelle along as they walked across the carpeted expanse to the far wall.

The room was dark, the windows curtained so that nothing could be seen. Michelle stumbled but caught herself as Howard continued walking. They stopped and waited.

"CLICK!"

Two bright lights flashed out piercing Michelle's eyes as she winced looking away. Slowly her eyesight recovered and she managed to see beyond the glare. The lights were positioned to shine down on them but still leave everything behind them completely covered in darkness so that whoever they were supposed to be meeting was still hidden from their sight.

"Ahhh… Howard good work," a rough gravely voice called out from the shadows.

Howard bowed.

"Thank you sir," he whispered reverently.

"You may leave," the voice commanded.

Howard instantly whirled around and hurried out as Michelle stared helplessly after him wondering what was going on.

"Ms. Hutton, it's a pleasure to meet you."

There was a soft click then a small flame burned in the darkness: a cigarette lighter. Something was lit and them the flame disappeared. Soon a small circle of red light gleamed in the shadows: the lit end of a cigarette or cigar. It seemed the man in the shadows had it in his lips as it small burning red circle moved as he spoke.

"I supposed you're wondering why you're here," the man continued.

Michelle shrugged.

"Heard you're going to give me a job," she said confidently.

The man chuckled.

"Sass, I like that," the man paused, "yes, Ms. Hutton I'm here to offer you a business deal."

"Really?" Michelle played along.

"Really."

The man paused again and coughed heavily, his hacking wheezes filling the room. He cleared his throat and continued.

"I'm a rich man and I like many pretty things: invaluable paintings, cars… you get the picture however sometimes like the saying goes… money can't get you everything," the man chuckled, "So I go about other means of acquiring it."

"Stealing?"

"Such dreadful word: stealing… I prefer acquiring," the man said delicately, "This is where you come in. You have a flare, a certain finesse I believe in this area that is why I had Howard pick you up. I believe your skills can be furthered and put to much better use than petty thievery so what do you say?"

"What do I get out of it?" Michelle demanded.

"Of course, Neil!" the man barked.

The bodyguard at the door appeared by Michelle's side causing her to jump. In his hands, he held a briefcase. He immediately held it to Michelle and flicked it open.

Michelle's eyes widened as the stacks of cash lying inside the case.

"A financial reward and some other benefits is your cut of this deal…" the man chuckled, "So what do you say Ms. Hutton?"

Michelle stared at the cash for the longest time. She had never seen so much money before in her life! Pictures of her childhood flashed through her mind: a dizzying whirlwind of drunken mothers and horrible food, dirty clothes and sickness that lasted for days as medicine was too expensive to afford…

She took a deep breath.

"Deal."

"Good. Neil? Please lead this young lady to Jasmine. I believe she's eager to start the training. Ms. Hutton? Don't worry you won't regret this deal."

Michelle turned to leave but stopped.

"So what should I call you? Boss?"

She could practically feel his malicious grin from across the room.

"Mr. X will do just fine…"

The last thing Michelle saw before she left the room as the burning cigar end glowing malevolently in the darkness.

And then the door closed.

"This way," Neil dragged her along to a door across the hallway.

He pushed it open and Michelle blinked at the huge gym just inside. A tall black-haired woman beamed at her.

"Michelle right? I'm Jasmine… your teacher," Jasmine's grin widened, "Let the lessons begin!!"

_End of flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle slowly descended down the stairs heading towards the basement, her eyes roving around the dark shadow-filled room.

Suddenly a step behind her creaked. She whipped around, arms coming up ready to strike but she was a fraction too slow.

"BAM!"

Michelle was sent stumbling down the stairs crashing painfully to the ground as her attacker chuckled nastily. Michelle heaved herself up and glared up at the stairs.

"Well… welcome back darling," Jasmine smirked.

Michelle gritted her teeth and raised her arms.

"Awww… no hugs? No kiss?" Jasmine taunted.

"Can we just fight already?" Michelle demanded.

Jasmine's smile widened.

"My pleasure!" Jasmine hissed.

Her former teacher charged down the stairs and the fight was on.

Sakura stood at the edge of the open door, her eyes focused on the dour sky outside. From somewhere behind her, a string of explosive curses filled the house. With a sigh, Sakura walked back into the house.

"Still having problems?" she asked casually.

Garrett glared at her.

"I'll take that as a hell yes," Sakura said mildly.

Brushing past him, she stepped into a darkened room. A gentle breeze pushed the curtains back slightly allowing a sliver of light to illuminate the occupants within. Uri and Anthony were lying on two separate beds, their bruised and cut faces revealing the fact they were still recovering from their injuries sustained in China.

Sakura stared down at them, an unreadable look on her face.

Uri suddenly shifted in bed, her face pallid and drenched into sweat.

"No… no… no…" she muttered feverishly, her head thrashing from side to side, "Darkness… I can see it! Everywhere! It's here! It's growing and becoming stronger and stronger… it's consuming… devouring… everything!!"

Her next words chilled Sakura to the born.

"Void and darkness… everywhere… the end… it's here…" Uri's voice gave out and she slumped back into her sheets, dead to the world again.

A stunned silence filled the room. Shaking herself, Sakura took a deep shuddering breath and quickly left the room.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle had to laugh at the shocked look on Jasmine's face as she landed a hefty kick to her chest and sent her flying backwards.

Jasmine hit the dirty concrete ground and slowly rolled to her feet.

"Oh, you have gotten better!" Jasmine jeered.

"Or maybe you've just gotten worse," Michelle snapped back, "I mean all that corruption of innocent kids? I imagine it doesn't do too much for the ol' fightin' skills."

Jasmine growled at her and lashed out but she was almost laughingly outmatched. Michelle caught her fist, twisted her arm behind her back and shoved her up against the wall with brutal force.

"Hmmm… you know what? I'm guessing this is a lame attempt at a trap so Mr. X isn't here. Now I'm going to ask nicely… where is he?"

"I'm not going to tell… YOU!" Jasmine screamed.

She bucked and threw Michelle over her. Michelle stumbled backwards as Jasmine pushed herself off from the wall. She whirled around, lashing out with her foot. The older woman landed a hit that knocked the Angel backwards. With a growl of fury, Jasmine reached behind her and ripped a rusty pipe loose from the wall with a yell.

Spinning it around in her hands, Jasmine advanced. Michelle quickly darted forwards as Jasmine swiped at her with the pipe.

Blocking Jasmine's wrist, Michelle punched her in the face dazing her before throwing her up against the wall again

"Okay is it déjà vu when I kick your ass over and over again? Or is there another word for it?" Michelle asked lightly.

She spun away from Jasmine's kick before twirling back and cracking her fists across Jasmine's face.

The older woman wobbled as Michelle pounced forwards sensing the advantage.

"CRACK!"

A left jab.

"CRACK!"

A right hook.

"CRACK!"

Jasmine hit the ground hard as Michelle towered over her triumphant.

"Where is he?" Michelle demanded coldly.

Jasmine glared up at her weakly.

"Go… to… hell…" she spat out.

Michelle grabbed her by the collar and landed a vicious punch to the face. Jasmine's head cracked against the concrete, knocking her out cold before Michelle dropped her prone body to the ground.

"Villains," Michelle sighed staring at Jasmine in disgust, "Never doing things the easy way."

With another sigh, she dragged Jasmine to her feet and pulled her towards the door.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

The front door swung open and Michelle looked up.

"Hello honey!" Dorothy Hutton beamed drunkenly at her door as she stumbled into the room, a bottle of vodka held tightly in her hands.

"Out drinking again?" Michelle demanded disgustedly.

Her mother pulled herself up to her full height and glared at Michelle blearily.

"Don't take that tone with me young lady!" she slurred angrily.

Michelle glared at her in stonily silence as Dorothy lurched to the couch and crashed down onto the seat, spilling half her alcohol on the way down.

She took a deep swig and looked up at her daughter.

"Going to work today?" she asked.

Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," she replied tersely.

She glanced up at the clock on the wall.

"Shit," she muttered, "Look mom, I've got to go… there's some bread in the cupboard. Make yourself a sandwich or something. And please don't try to cook, we don't want to start a fire again or the landlord's going to kick us out."

Dorothy nodded vigorously as she sipped at her vodka, half of it spilling down her lips. Michelle shook her head and moved to the door.

"Honey?"

Michelle turned back to her mother. Dorothy was looking at her with a small apologetic smile.

"Ummm… I'm just wondering… me and my boyfriend…"

"Which one?" Michelle muttered.

Dorothy ignored her.

"We want to go to this club but I'm a bit broke at the moment…"

"Let me guess. You want money?" Michelle growled.

Dorothy nodded slowly.

"Only a little," she wheedled.

Michelle pulled out her wallet and yanked out some notes.

"Take it," Michelle growled disgustedly throwing it at her mother, "It's not like you won't steal it anyway."

Whirling around, Michelle marched out into the cold night as her mother fell to the ground scrounging at the notes.

As she was walking to her car, her phone rang. Cursing she pulled it out.

"Hello?"

'_Michelle. It's time.'_

The phone went dead as Michelle smiled coldly.

_End of flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle calmly walked through the front doors of Hope Falls general hospital.

"Hey!" she called out to the nurse, "I've got a patient!"

As the nurse started forwards, Michelle calmly dumped the unconscious body of Jasmine on the floor.

"Now, where is Mama Kella's room?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

A tall well-dressed man pulled out his car keys and pressed the button deactivating his car alarm with a small beep. Whistling to himself, he walked up to his car.

"Mr. Andretti?"

Andretti turned around quickly.

Michelle, dressed in a slinky black top, grinned at him.

"Yes?" Andretti asked curiously.

Michelle took a step towards him.

"I know this may sound a bit forward. I'm a huge fan of your research into Russian history!" she gushed batting her eyelids.

She took another step closer.

"I just got your latest book and I was wondering if you would sign it for me?" Michelle took a deep breath, "I know this seems a bit strange and probably a bit stalker-ish but I couldn't get into your book signing today and I called your assistant and she cleared it…"

She trailed off. She was only a metre away from him.

"Please?" she held out her book, its cover opened.

Andretti smiled at her charmingly.

"Anything for a fan," he grinned as he stepped towards, his hands outstretched, "And your name is?"

"Pain!" Michelle chirped.

"Wha…"

"BAM!"

Michelle nailed him straight in the face with a right hook. Andretti's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he slumped to the ground, out cold.

Smirking, Michelle reached to the sheath on her belt and pulled out a long steel dagger.

"Now don't worry," she grinned, "This won't hurt a bit."

Moonlight danced off the razor sharp edge as she took a step towards him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"BAM!"

The wooden crate crashed to the ground as the workers jumped out of the way.

"Careful!" Dean snapped, "You'll break it. Do you have any idea how much we paid for this sarcophagus? It's worth millions to this museum!"

The workers all muttered apologies as they carefully set the wooden crate up the right way. Dean smiled in glee as they wielded their crowbars and swiftly tore the front away.

The wooden lid fell to the ground as Dean took a step forwards, his eyes glowing. The golden sarcophagus, its surface gleaming in the dull light was a sight to behold, its lid adorned with lapis lazuli, jade and all manners of gem.

"It's exquisite," he breathed.

He shook himself.

"Okay, everyone out!" he commanded, "I've got to secure the vault."

The workers quickly departed as Dean took one final wistful look at the Egyptian coffin. Stepping through the doorway, he closed the thick metal door and reaching across to the number-pad typed it a code.

Gears whirred as the metal door locked itself shut, plunging the room into darkness. All as silent until…

"BANG!"

The sarcophagus lid fell to the floor as torchlight pierced the shadows. Michelle slowly got out of the coffin whimpering in pain.

"Damn movers," she growled.

Stumbling across to the far wall of the vault, guided by her torch, Michelle made it to another set of thick metal doors.

She shone the light to the side.

A small pad was fixed to the wall. Reaching across, she touched a button. The pad instantly lit it, its small pad glowing green in the dark.

"Hope its still fresh," Michelle mused.

She walked back to the sarcophagus she had smuggled herself into and pulled out a small metal case. Walking back to the second door, she flipped the case open. Her torchlight revealed the ghastly sight: Andretti's severed right hand.

Not even blinking an eye, Michelle picked up the severed hand and pressed it against the small gel pad. The fingers sunk in as the pad went red.

A few seconds passed before the pad beeped.

With a soft hiss, the second door swung open.

Grinning Michelle threw the hand inside before following it into the darkness. Her torchlight played in the darkness until it fell on something that glowed brightly in the meagre light: a set of beautiful ruby-encrusted Faberge eggs nestled in a case of velvet.

Smiling Michelle walked towards them and plucked them from the case. She walked back to the entrance, before turning back around. Chuckling she withdrew something from her coat and hurled it into the darkness. Walking back to the sarcophagus, she climbed back in before reaching for the lid and closing it up again.

A few seconds passed.

"BOOM!"

Fire exploded from the doorway as the small grenade Michelle had thrown inside detonated. Immediately smoke filled the vault as alarms screeched in peril. Inside her hiding place, Michelle grinned.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Dean was first at the scene flanked by a platoon of security guards. He quickly opened the vault door and instantly recoiled at the thick smoke that blasted out.

"Hurry! Save the artefacts!" he screeched waving his arm around helplessly trying to clear the smoke, "Save the sarcophagus first!"

Two guards instantly leapt into the smoke-filled vault and wrestled the sarcophagus out of the vault. Dean and the guards then plunged back into the vault to rescue the others. In the chaos, none of them noticed the lid of the sarcophagus opening and a slim figure escaping out into the hallway beyond.

Michelle Hutton had made a clean get away.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Howard looked up.

"So?"

Michelle smirked and held the Faberge eggs out to him.

"Good work!" Howard cheered, "So what is this? Your twentieth steal?"

"Twenty-third but who's counting?" Michelle shrugged.

"Mr. X will be pleased," Howard grinned.

"And so will I when I have the money wired to my account," Michelle grinned, "So anything else on the agenda?"

"Well…" Howard trailed off, "There is one thing."

"What?" Michelle demanded.

"Don't worry, it's only a small thing. In fact it's in town."

Michelle's grin widened.

"Where?"

_End of flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle took a deep breath and stepped into the quiet dark room.

"Mama Kella?" she called out tentatively.

She stepped closer to the bed.

"Hey it's me, Michelle…" she smiled sadly, "I know you probably thought I died or something but hey, you know me right? I'm like a darn cockroach, nothing keeps me down for long."

Her face paled as she finally caught sight of Mama Kella's battered face. One eye was heavily bandaged, her cheeks grazed and cut. Michelle's hands clenched in trembling fists as fury rolled over her in almost tangible waves.

"Bastards…" she hissed.

She shook her herself.

"I know you're probably wondering what happened to me and everything and I guess there's the short answer and the long one," a quick smile flashed across her lips, "Remember the last conversation we had? The one at the centre? Well, it worked. And I changed. I'm fighting crime now instead of committing it."

Michelle chuckled.

"Guess life's ironic that way."

Michelle sobered again.

"I never did thank you you know," Michelle whispered, "If it wasn't for you…"

She trailed off.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you… thank you for saving my life."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

Michelle easily picked the lock to the small metal safe. Chuckling with amusement, she pulled the door open and reached inside. Carefully she pulled out a small glass case, holding it up she could see the autographed baseball held inside.

She shook her head.

"Boys and their sports," she tutted, wondering why on earth her boss wanted her to steal this.

She made to get up.

"Now whaddya think ya doin'?"

Michelle whirled around.

The light flicked on. Mama Kella was standing at the doorway, her hands on her wide hips.

"Now ya put that down right now!" she demanded scoldingly as though addressing a naughty child.

"I can't do that," Michelle began nervously.

"Why? Cos' that nasty whelp Howard wants ya ta steal it?" Mama Kella asked flatly.

Michelle stared at her flabbergasted.

"Ya'll find dat I know every darn thang that happens in this town," Mama Kella said almost kindly, "I always knew ya were workin fer that Howard but hoped ya had some sense in ya to turn away."

She shook her head sadly.

"Seems I was a lil' mistaken."

"I had to," Michelle grinded out, internally wondering why she felt the need to defend herself to this woman.

"What? To make some money?" Kella shook her head sadly, "Seems ya find a stupid way to do it."

"Where do you get off judging me?!" Michelle snarled.

"Ya think yer the only one who suffered from poverty?" Kella snapped, "Try livin' through da Great Depression!"

Michelle glared at her defiantly.

Kella sighed in defeat.

"Ya wanta know what that balls fer?" Kella asked gently.

She took a step towards Michelle. The blonde girl immediately took a step back.

"We were hopin ta sell it off ta charity," Kella said calmly, "Its signed by a great baseballer… could fetch millions. And we were planning to use that money to run a safe house here… a place for children to come to. Children from bad families and da like… just like you."

Michelle sucked in her breath in surprise.

"We are hoping it would save them from a life of petty crime and ta save them from people who wanta exploit them… people like Howard. We wanta give these children hope and the opportunity to turn their lives around…" Kella eyed her critically, "Do ya really wanta be the person to take that away from them. Condemn those kids to a life of fear and crime?"

An eternity seemed to tick by.

Pale-faced and trembling, Michelle placed the autographed baseball down onto the top of the safe. Without a single word, she brushed past Kella and raced out the door.

Kella smiled.

"So there's hope after all fer ya."

Michelle raced deep into the night, trembling at the thought of what she could've done.

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"And I swear to god Mama Kella. I'm going to get those assholes who did this to y…"

"PHWIP!!"

Michelle blinked.

Slowly she stared down at her torso, at the dart sticking out from her skin.

"Oh shi…"

And as the paralysing tranquilliser did their work, she fell into a world of darkness.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nakuru blinked in surprise as she spotted a teary looking woman running out from Touya's office. She sighed and rolled her eyes before stepping into her partner's office.

"What?!" Touya snapped at her.

"Oh look, someone kidnapped Touya and replaced him with Mr. Grumpy-bear," Nakuru yawned to show how very unimpressed she was at his annoyance, "So what did the poor girl do this time?"

"Shut. Up."

"Well that mono-syllabic thing you got going is very intimidating," Nakuru smirked, "If I was five, I imagined it would be very distressing."

"I hate you," Touya muttered.

"I assure you the love is mutual," Nakuru took a seat in the chair opposite him, "Still worried?"

"Oh wow," Touya growled out sarcastically, "My little sister is acting as a double-agent in an international crime syndicate who would have no qualms about killing her if they discovered the truth and which by the way she mentioned that they may be on to her right before she severed all communications with us… I don't think anyone can blame me for being testy!"

"And here I was thinking that PMS was a strictly female thing," Nakuru smiled serenely.

Touya glared at her viciously before stabbing his pen down onto the paper file he was writing on.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Nakuru remarked, "And in response to your previous rant. Don't worry. Sakura can take care of herself and she's got Jonathan watching her back. The two of them are a good team. They've been at it for two years now. And even if they did get exposed, I have no problems in imaging the both of them breaking out and making their way back to us. Trust me, the two of them is handling things just fine…"

Touya sighed.

"Still… if only I could talk to them!"

Nakuru rolled her eyes.

"Men," she muttered.

She spoke up.

"Well, you can't. No stop pouting and throwing a hissy fit every two seconds. And also, stop yelling at the junior agents, the boss is getting annoyed at all the crying and moping that's going on."

She stood up and placed a sympathetic hand on Touya's arm.

"Trust me. Jonathan and Sakura are just fine. They've got this."

As she turned to leave, it never crossed her mind that they weren't fine. That one of them were lying in hospital bed only five blocks away, fighting for his life as death hovered ominously above him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Owww…" Michelle groaned opening her eyes, "Ouch."

She slowly pulled herself up and stared at her surroundings. She was in a small dark tunnel of some sort, one end completely blocked with fallen rubble, the other guarded by a set of rusty iron gates. She took a deep breath and immediately gagged.

If the smell was anything to judge by, she was currently in the sewers.

"Great, just great," Michelle growled.

The blonde Angel climbed to her feet. She winced as she felt that her hair was wet and dripping with thick disgusting sludge.

"Looks like me and my hairdressers got a long appointment coming…" Michelle sighed.

Suddenly the gates opened with a rusty screech. A tall man climbed into the small prison, a gun held in his hands.

"Come," he growled waving the gun.

Grumbling Michelle stepped through the open gate.

"So wanna tell me why I was kidnapped and brought into this stinking hellhole?" she demanded.

The man merely jabbed her back with the barrel of his gun forcing her to move forwards. Sighing, Michelle did as he silently bid. Together, with him herding her along, they trod down a long winding tunnel, black sludge lapping at their feet.

Finally they came to small hole in the side of the tunnel wall. It looked like something had punched their way through the brickwork. Michelle studied it curiously.

"Down," the man commanded jabbing her painfully.

"What?"

"Down! Go down!" the man growled.

He literally shoved her through the hole. To Michelle's surprise, there was a set of stone stairs on the other side. Frowning, she walked down the long flighting of spiral crumbling stairs until she reached the very bottom.

Long hissing candles lit up an immense cavern. The floor was an alternating landscape of packed dirt and hard rock, one quarter of it submerged into a huge pool of brackish still water. Countless wooden crates lined the floor, some opened to reveal objects that glimmered in the flickering firelight.

Curious, Michelle stepped up to the nearest one.

She peered inside and gaped at the object inside. It was a cluster of gem-encrusted Faberge eggs, the exact ones she had stolen from the museum all those long years ago.

"Beautiful aren't they?"

She stiffened. She could recognise that voice even after all so long.

"Mr. X," she said calmly as she turned around.

As always he was hidden in the shadows, just out reach of the candlelight.

"Hello, Ms. Hutton," Mr. X growled out hoarsely.

Michelle sighed.

"Okay, I think I'm starting to get this. Mama Kella was attacked by your thugs because you knew I'll eventually find out and come back here to go Old Testament 'eye for an eye' on the sorry morons who did it. Hence you lured me back into town. You knew eventually I'll go to the hospital to visit her so you had someone lying in wait to ambush me. Then when I was drugged, you'll bring me back here so you can have your revenge for me ditching you all those years ago," Michelle peered at the shadow-hidden man, "Am I getting close? Warm or cold?"

Mr. X chuckled.

"You always were a smart one."

Michelle rolled her eyes..

"Guess no-one ever taught you not to hold a grudge huh?"

"I never forget," Mr. X hissed.

"You don't have to remind me," Michelle sighed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

Michelle quickly darted through the shadows, her eyes wide and frightened as she stared out into the darkness behind her. Racing across the dilapidated streets, she ducked into another small alleyway.

"Going somewhere?"

Michelle froze at the chilly voice. Fearfully she turned around, blocking the entrance to the alleyway were a trio of gorilla-like men, cruelty burning in their eyes.

"Mr. X's men I presume?" Michelle asked with forced cheerfulness.

The leader of the men shrugged.

"The boss doesn't like it when something of his goes missing."  
"I am not HIS!" Michelle roared.

The leader-man chuckled nastily.

"Well, he doesn't see it that way."

With a simple gesture, the other two men bounded forwards eager to inflict some violence. Michelle immediately whirled around and dashed off as fast as she could. Heavy footsteps pounded after her as she fled down the alleyway, throwing terrified looks over her shoulders.

"BAM!"  
With a loud screech, Michelle crashed into someone and hit the ground painfully. Fearfully she looked up just in time to see the two men pounce on her with gleeful cries.

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"So what's the plan now?" Michelle asked wearily, "Kill me? Or maim me?"

"As much as I like to hurt you, this isn't my doing," Mr. X sniggered, "Really Michelle do you really think you're worth all this effort? You just a little jumped-up trollop. I had someone replace you a long, long time ago. You were nothing but a nasty little memory."

He took a deep rattling breath and continued.

"Now I do take responsibility for trying to hunt you down all those years ago but I quickly got over that because well… a man like me doesn't waste too much time on a nothing like you. No, it was someone else behind this."

Michelle blinked.

"Someone else?"

"Hello Michelle," a nasty voice said from somewhere to her left.

A figure stepped out from the shadows. Michelle's eyes widened in recognition.

"ANDRETTI!" she gasped.

The museum curator she had attacked and maimed all those years ago stood before her, fury and hatred rolling off him in almost tangible waves. He glared at her viciously.

"So you do remember me!" he snarled, "Just as I remembered you. The bitch who did this to me!"

He held out his arm. Michelle felt a wave of crushing guilt come over her as she saw his handless limb.

"Now you're going to pay!"

"And speaking of payment where's mine?" Mr. X spoke up.

"Here," Andretti said contemptuously.

He withdrew something from his pocket and threw it down onto the ground just in front of Mr. X. There was some dark muttering as Mr. X moved forwards to get it.

Michelle gaped in shock as the movements brought him out finally into the light revealing a deprecated wheel chair bound old man. The trembling pensioner glared up at her.

"What?!" Mr. X hissed, "Shocked?"

"I let an old geezer like you control my life?" Michelle demanded, "Talk about the follies of youth!"

Mr. X snarled at her.

"You little bi…"  
"BANG!"

Michelle jumped as gunshot rang out in the chamber. Mr. X gaped in shock as he slowly stared down at his shirt, at the patch of crimson blossoming out from the wound torn through his heart.

The sound of the shot echoed in the cavern as Mr. X fell forwards out of his chair hitting the ground in a crumpled dying heap.

Andretti coolly lowered his gun.

"That bastard always did annoy me," he growled, "Now…"  
He aimed the gun straight at Michelle.

"… to finish what I started.'  
He pulled the trigger.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"The Angels tried to scry for me again," Garrett snarled, "Luckily my spells held out."

"And?"

Garrett glared at her.

"Next time they might not be so lucky!" he snapped, "We need to keep them busy."

"How?" Sakura demanded.

Garrett smiled.

"How are your connections in this town?"

"Fantastic," Sakura replied dryly.

"Good, I've got a plan."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle was already in motion. Grabbing a Faberge egg out of the case, she held it out in front of her.

"TING!"

The bullet glanced off the gem-encrusted egg as Andretti howled in rage and fired again. Michelle leapt to the side dodging the bullet as she hurled the egg straight at him.

It struck him in the face, the gem's sharp edges tearing into his skin as he flailed wildly dropping the gun. Michelle leapt at him as he straightened.

"BITCH!" he roared.

Fuelled by fury and blind hatred, Andretti met her head on punching her in the face with his one hand as Michelle reeled backwards slightly stunned by the amount of force behind the blow.

Andretti laughed at her shocked look.

"You think I didn't prepare?!" he snarled, "Train for this day?! I'm going to kill you!"

He lashed out kicking her in the chest. Michelle hit the ground as Andretti leapt forwards kicking her in the ribs. Again and again, he struck striking her as she writhed helplessly on the ground.

"I HATE YOU!" he screamed grabbing her by the neck and throwing her into the fetid pool of water that dominated a quarter of the chamber.

Michelle hit the dark water and instantly recoiled at its bitter taste as she struggled to right herself, scrambling for purchase. Andretti leapt into the water after her, the water coming up to his waist as he charged at her with a cry.

Michelle managed to nail him in the face with a punch but he batted her next blow away. He head-butted her brutally straight in the face. Michelle stumbled backwards blinking in confusion as Andretti pulled another gun from his soaked jacket.

"Now, you are going to die," he hissed coldly.

He aimed carefully and Michelle froze.

She was going to die.

He pulled the trigger. Michelle closed her eyes, hoping to all the higher powers above she had done enough good in her life to outweigh the bad and that she wouldn't end up somewhere unpleasant.

"Click!"

Michelle opened her eyes to see Andretti's astonished face.

A misfire.

He moved to fire again.

Smiling almost politely, Michelle lashed out with a right hook knocking the weapon out of his hand. It sailed through the air landing into a deeper part of the water with a splash and immediately began to sink down into the water.

"NOOO!!"

Michelle shut him up with a devastating rabbit punch in the face.

"Look, I know I did some really, really, really bad stuff when I was younger and stupid. And not a day goes by when I don't regret it and pray to god that I hadn't been so stupid to do it. But I can't turn back time so I'm going to say this slowly so you'll get it. I'm sorry. I'm more sorry than words can possibly express," Michelle said grimly as she unleashed a volley of blows that all landed with deadly accuracy, "I know it's just words and it's not going to take back what I did to you but it's the only thing I can do."

Michelle lashed out with another punch and stood back, panting slightly. Andretti blinked at her wearily, bruised and battered by the onslaught..

"But I'm doing good in my life now and maybe that's something you can take solace in. That the girl who cut out your hand doesn't exist, that Michelle's long dead," Michelle let out a long breath, "The girl you want revenge on grew up and became a different person. And she's sorry for what she did, and she's paying society back for all she done. She's seeking redemption."

Michelle paused.

"So that's all I'm going to say. Except for this… I'M REALLY FRIGGING SORRY!"

Andretti glared at her.

"Bitch. Bitch. Bitch. BITCH!" he screamed.

He charged at her. Michelle easily sidestepped his lunge and kicked him in the back sending him sprawling.

"Okay, apology's not going to work," she muttered, "That leaves…"

She kicked him again as he leapt at her.

"Look, you lost a hand. Boo hoo. Get over it! Other people lose whole limbs and they move on with their lives! They find meaning in their loss without becoming a bitter old man-bitch about it! So get over this revenge schtick and get a new hobby!" she snapped, "Cos this is getting really old!"

Andretti's head snapped back as Michelle landed a final blow that had him on the edge of unconsciousness. Blearily, he watched, dazed as Michelle walked away from, sloshing her way back to dry land.

He snapped.

"DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME!!" he screamed, "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

As Michelle watched dispassionately from the bank, Andretti flailed out to the deeper waters to retrieve his gun. He took in a deep breath and dived under.

"Oh man," Michelle sighed, "This is going to take fore…"  
"ROWRRRRRR!!"

A deep bestial roar rocked the chamber as Andretti exploded out of the water screaming in fear. Michelle could only watch horrified as Andretti screeched again. A dark reptilian head burst out of the water next to him and lunged sideways catching him in its steely death grip. Long yellowed teeth ripped into him as Andretti let out a final piercing scream before the monster dragged him back down into the broiling water, crimson billowing out in all directions.

A stunned silence filled the room as the water turned still once more.

"Huh," Michelle gasped, "So those stories about alligators in the sewers are true."

She paused.

"You learn something new everyday," she muttered to herself as she turned back to the entrance of the cavern.

Slowly she began to climb the stairs back up to the light and freedom.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A cute red convertible charged down the long dusty road leading away from Hope's Falls, rock music pumping out in the air. Suddenly a mobile phone rang. Turning down the volume and grabbing the phone, Michelle kept half an eye on the road as she picked it up.

"Hello?"

'_Michelle!' _Tomoyo gasped in relief, _'Finally! Are you okay?'_

"Yeah, great!"

'How did everything go?'

"Fine, just fine… just tied up a few loose ends you know."

'So where are you now?'

"Heading back," Michelle paused, "Look I'm driving and I shouldn't be on the phone cause you know that could lead to crashing and then the dying and such…"

'_Oh! Sorry! Sorry! Just checking to see if you were okay!' _Tomoyo said hurriedly, _'Okay, see you soon?'_

"Yeah."

'Bye!'

"Bye!"

Michelle flipped her phone shut and concentrated on the road again as an old memory flickered inside her head.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

"BAM! BAM!"  
Michelle gaped in shock as the man she had just run into knock out both men with shocking ease.

"Wha?!" she stuttered.

"Michelle Hutton?" her rescuer said quietly.

"Who are you?!" Michelle demanded backing way from him.

"I'm Xiaolang," the man said calmly, "And I've been sent to talk to you."

"Okay… is this the part where you're going to tell me I'm meant to slay vampires or something cos…" Michelle began unsurely.

"No, I'm not a Watcher and you're not a Slayer," Xiaolang smiled slightly, "A man sent me."

"A man?"  
"His name is Syaoran and he has a job offer for you," Xiaolang eyed her carefully, "Michelle Hutton how would you like to be an Angel?"

"WHAT?!"

_End of Flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Chuckling at her memory, Michelle turned the wheel and began to head back home.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


	16. Bleeding heart mother

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**Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 15: Bleeding heart mother**

"Viewers if you're just tuning in we have breaking news for you," the news reporter said grimly, "Hostile individuals have just taken over a local primary school and have taken the teachers and students within hostage. Witnesses who made it out of the building says they're heavily armed and deadly serious."

Flashes of the primary school appeared on screen as the reporter continued talking.

"Early reports indicate that at least three people are dead: one teacher and tragically two young students. Police have already surrounded the building and negotiations have begun. It is a tense situation out here, viewers and one that is sure to escalate. Authorities have warned against parents rushing down here as it may place them at risk."

Several shots of hysterical parents took over the screen.

"But many have not heeded the call," the reporter pointed out needlessly, "We will keep you updated with all developments as this hostile situation plays out. This is Tara Knight reporting from the besieged primary school for Channel 4!"

Once again a shot of the primary school filled out the screen.

"Isn't that…" Tomoyo trailed off, paled-face.

"Lily's school?" Michelle said faintly.

They stared at each other in shock, eyes wide with fear.

Eriol summed up the situation perfectly:

"Shit."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sarah Harris looked up startled as Marcus burst into her office, wild-eyed.

"Marcus?" she asked concernedly.

"Can you cover my classes?" he demanded feverishly.

"Marcus what's wro…"

"You heard about the primary school?"

"The one that's just been taken over by gun-wielding psychos?" Sarah asked, "Yeah, I heard in on the radio."

"That's my daughter's school."

Sarah's eyes widened.

"Go."

"Thank you!"

And Marcus was out the door. Sarah slowly took a deep shuddering breath and said a prayer for young Lily.

"Please let nothing happen to her," she prayed.

But something told her that the situation was going to get a whole lot worse…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"LET ME IN!!"

Meiling was red with fury. Gritting her teeth, she fixed her most vicious death glare onto the policeman blocking her way. The man quailed visibly under her gaze but held his place.

"I'm sorry mam but this is a police only area," he managed to stutter out.

A vein in Meiling's temple twitched as she clenched her hands into two tight deadly fists.

"You. Are. Going. To. Let. Me. THROUGH!" she grounded out each word, every syllable promising excruciating pain to all those who didn't follow her commands.

The cop paled further under her wrathful glare.

"Sorry but I can't," he whimpered.

"WHY NOT?!" a hysterical mother shoved Meiling out of the way as she clutched at the cop, "WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THERE!?"

"I don't know," the cop said faintly, "I don't know…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Inside the captured school, Diego Simmons smiled cruelly at his hostages.

"Now… just remember. You all act like good boys and girls and no-one gets hurt," he sneered.

He pointed his gun at the teachers and students before him, chuckling as they screamed.

"Watch them," he commanded to one of his cronies.

The brutish man nodded and stepped forwards, brandishing his semi-automatic as Diego stepped out of the classroom. He reached into his jacket and flipped his cell phone open, punching in a series of numbers.

"Okay, Phase One is complete," he said calmly into the phone.

'_Good. Half of the money is being wired into your account as we speak,' _a hissing voice told him, _'Do your part and the other half will be there as well.'_

"No probs," Diego replied arrogantly.

Flipping his phone shut, he stepped back into the classroom.

Garrett Huss hung up and turned back to his accomplices. Verona stood at the door, silent as usual. Sandra's face was carefully blank.

"They won't survive you know," a weak voice said from the bed.

Garrett turned towards Anthony who was lying weakly in his bed, still recovering from his wounds in China.

"Oh?" Garrett asked calmly.

"Diego. He's a fiery moron. He'll get killed in there," Anthony clarified.

Garrett smiled nastily.

"Don't worry. I don't expect him to live. He's a distraction nothing more. As long as the Angels are off our backs, we can continue our work here."

"You mean translating that stupid stone you took from China?" Anthony snarled.

"That stupid stone is worth more than your miserable life," Garrett spat back.

He turned to Sandra, blatantly ignoring Anthony.

"Have you made contact with other ally?" he asked.

Sakura nodded slowly.

"She's heading here now."

"Good," Garrett smiled, "Let the fun begin!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo stomped on the brakes as she hurriedly parked her car haphazardly across the road. She jumped out of the car as Michelle and Eriol exited right after her.

"Wow… talk about your mayhem," Michelle whistled seeing the chaos spread out before them.

A police blockade had been set up around the school. Cars, metal fences and vans forming a circle around the sprawling building. Regular police and heavily armed and suited-up military figures patrolled the area, talking constantly into their radios filling the air with noise. A helicopter flew by overhead, circling the school.

Wooden barriers had been set up just outside of the blockade and it was here that the parents and other relatives were screaming at the police stationed there in distress.

"It's a mess," Eriol agreed.

He clutched his chest slightly as his wounds twinged with pain. Tomoyo was instantly by his side.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Eriol waved her off.

"I'm fine," he said tightly, "Let's just find Meiling and figure out what's going on."

Tomoyo nods and they instantly plunge into the crowd, pushing their way through the crying, shouting, angry and terrified parents.

"MEILING!" Michelle yelled spotting her fellow Angel.

Meiling whipped towards them.

"They have Lily!" she screamed almost hysterically, "I have to get to her!!"

"I know…" Tomoyo began desperately.

"She could be injured! She could be dying!" Meiling was clearly losing it, "She could be calling for me and I can't…"

"Meiling…" Tomoyo tried to cut in.

"She needs me…" Meiling was crying now, tears rolling down her face, "I…"  
"SMACK!"

Tomoyo and Eriol jumped as Michelle slapped Meiling across the face pitilessly.

"Look at me," Michelle commanded in an implacable, diamond-hard voice, "Look at me. Now."

Meiling rubbed numbly at her cheeks as Michelle grabbed her friend by the shoulders.

"Lily's in there. The bad guy's are in there. We know that okay? It must be hard on you… unbelievably hard. I can't imagine the pain you must be in. But we need to focus."

Tomoyo and Eriol watched as Michelle's words began to calm Meiling down.

"This is what we are going to do. We are going to come up with a plan. We are going to rescue her. Because that's what we do. Save the innocents. Lily needs you to be strong and not to fall apart. Can you do that for her?"

Meiling nodded slowly, her tears fading away.

"Good," Michelle turned to Tomoyo, "Have you contacted Syaoran?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"I called him back at my house. He said he can gets us into the police blockade and…"

"It's no use," Eriol pointed out, "The police hasn't come up with a way in yet and they probably won't… not without a full frontal charge."

"Which pretty much spells massacre," Michelle sighed.

Eriol nodded.

"Getting us into the blockade just means standing around, trying to negotiate with the kidnappers."

"Not good," Tomoyo frowned, "Perhaps there's another way in? Something the cops won't think of?"

"Too bad Nivaline went off back to China," Eriol sighed, "Her magic would've come in handy here."

"Xiaolang?" Michelle suggested hesitantly, still a little unsure about all this magic stuff.

"I love the guy but no offence he's a bit of a loose cannon now a days. This is a delicate situation. He'll just make it worse," Tomoyo said decisively.

"Okay, let's get out of this crowd then we'll see what we can do," Eriol looked at the others, who all nodded, "Good. Let's go."

Michelle and Tomoyo grabbed the still pale Meiling by the arm and began dragging her out of the crowd as Eriol followed. He threw one last glance at the besieged primary school and sighed.

This was going to be long hard day.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Crap," Nakuru whistled watching the T.V. screen.

"Seconded," Yukito murmured.

The two of them were standing in front of T.V., a lot of their colleagues standing with them as they all watched the siege unfold in front of them.

"Who's behind this?" Nakuru asked.

"Why do we care?" Dan Williams demanded, "It's local stuff. Not our jurisdiction."

"Wait. Is someone talking? I swore I heard something stupid being said," Nakuru snapped back without looking at him, "Who's behind it?"

"They think it's Diego Simmons," one of the agents called out.

Everyone in the crowd minus Dan who was glaring at Nakuru paled slightly.

"Re: Crap," Nakuru growled, "Mad Man Simmons plus a school full of kids."

"Someone's going to get killed," Yukito looked at the screen sadly.

Touya stepped into the room and blinked at the mass of people in confusion.

"Hey. What's going on?"

"And we have more shocking developments coming in from the besieged school. The leader of the hostage takers has just contacted our station to say that he has a mole inside the police force present in the area. He has warned that his mole will tell him everything that police will plan to do and if they decide to take action against him, he will know and exact revenge on his hostages."

Touya blinked in confusion as a gasp rippled through the crowd. Nakuru bit her lip.

"Double crap."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura watched the television with a closed look on her face, her dark eyes studying the pictures before her carefully.

For a split second, a tormented sorrowful look flashed across her face.  
"Oh god, Lily. I'm so sorry," she whispered to herself.

Unable to watch anymore, Sakura turned off the television and walked away.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Aha! Oh wait… maybe it's… no. I was right. Aha!" Tomoyo called out triumphantly.

Back at Tomoyo's car, a few metres away from the school, the Angels and Eriol were watching the chaos carefully as Tomoyo typed furiously away on her laptop.

Meiling was pale and silent but her eyes were burning with a fierce dangerous light. Her whole body trembled with anger and tension.

"What?" Michelle demanded.

"There is an entrance," Tomoyo tapped her screen happily, "The school's built over an old sewerage system that's been abandoned for years. If we go down there, we can approach the school undetected and make our way into the school basement."

"Good," Meiling growled out coldly.

Michelle glanced at her friend worriedly but Meiling was still staring at the school.

"Is there a way down there?" Eriol asked sceptically.

Tomoyo nodded.  
"There's a tunnel near here, which leads in. It should be easy to make it into the school from there."

"How?" Michelle questioned startled, "Is there like oh say… ten cubic metres of solid concrete between the tunnel and the school?"

"Nope," Tomoyo chirped optimistically, "Here's the funny thing. The old sewerage system _is _part of the school."

Michelle and Eriol stared at her in confusion.

"The roof of the tunnel and the road was torn away and the school was built on top. Slap in two walls in the tunnel on either side of the school and voila! One instant basement."

"Okay. Firstly, yay for us and secondly… the basement is an old sewerage pipe?!" Michelle grimaced, "Ew. And let's hope they got rid of the alligators first."

"Wha?" Eriol was confused.

"Long story."

"Let's go," Meiling growled making them jump.

An awkward silence fell over the group.

"Umm… I think we need some supplies first," Tomoyo said hesitantly.

"We don't have time!" Meiling yelled turning on her.

"Meiling… remember reason? We kinda need to…" Michelle began.

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME!" Meiling howled.

She leapt at Michelle as the blonde Angel brought her arms up in self-defence. Suddenly a pair of arms grabbed Meiling from behind. Meiling whipped around ready to pummel the person but stopped as she realised who it was.

"Marcus!" she gasped collapsing into his arms.

Michelle breathed a sigh of relief as Marcus wrapped his arms around his fiancée tightly.

"Lily… she's…" Meiling whispered helplessly.

"I know," Marcus said sadly, "I know."

They clung to each other, their fear palpable.

"Uhh… I hate to do this but guys? We need to get ready now. We need to hit them hard and hit them fast," Michelle said decisively, "Let's get those bastards and get Lily home A.S.A.P."

Meiling pulled away from Marcus and nodded, brushing her tears away.

"Okay…" Meiling nodded, "What do we need?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"The kids are getting restless."

Diego shrugged.

"Gag them," he said dismissively.

"What exactly are we doing?" his crony asked delicately not wanting to set off his prone-to-fury boss.

"What Garrett ordered us to do," Diego sneered at his sub-ordinate.

"And that is?"

"Kidnap the kids and when three women appear to rescue them we kill them," Diego explained slowly as if talking to a small less-than-bright child, "It's simple as that and for that we get millions of dollars!"

"These three women… who are they?"

Diego shrugged.

"Who cares? We gun them down and scatter. Simple as that."

"Okay," his crony shuffled off.

"And oh, Byron?"

Byron whirled around. Diego was instantly in his face, dark eyes fiery.

"Don't question my orders ever again," he growled out jabbing Byron in the chest with his gun, "Got it?"

Byron gulped, nodded and fled for his life. Diego snarled after him before moving back to the door.

When these women come…

He would be ready for them.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle shuddered as she stepped down into the abandoned sewerage system, remembering the last time she had ended up in underground pipes.

"There better not be alligators," she muttered to herself, flashing her flashlight around.

Luckily there was no sign of water, just oppressive darkness and choking dust.

"It's clear," Michelle called up

Tomoyo instantly clambered in after her. Joining her in the darkness, Tomoyo switched on mobile, peering at the screen.

Eriol was in after her whilst above on the ground, Meiling shot Marcus a final smile.

"Be careful," Marcus murmured, his eyes tormented.

"Always," Meiling promised.

With that, she climbed down into the tunnel after them as Marcus hefted the manhole cover and sealed it shut. Meiling leapt down, landing beside her friends, her eyes sparking with rage and adrenaline.

"Where do we go?" she demanded.

Tomoyo checked the small digital map on her mobile before looking up.

"This way," she called stepping off into the darkness.

They clambered through the old pipes, tripping on crumbling concrete and trying not to touch the rusty sides as Tomoyo led them through the sewers, checking her small map every few seconds.

Finally they came up to a smooth concrete wall.

"Okay, here we are," Tomoyo announced, "We're below the school ground itself. Beyond these walls is the school's basement."

"How do we get through?" Michelle asked rapping the wall with her fist.

It was built solid.

"Easy," Tomoyo knelt down and pulled off her pack.

Eriol instantly went down to help her as Tomoyo began pulling an elaborate metal rig. She pulled it free and extended its legs revealing a metal tripod. She pulled a long metal cylinder free from her bag and set it on top of the tripod. Consulting her mobile again, Tomoyo hit a few buttons and chewed her lips, her lavender eyes studying the display screen.

"Okay, three metres by two," she muttered to herself pushing the tripod to the concrete wall.

She turned to her friends.

"Stand back," she warned.

Pushing the cylinder up against the wall, Tomoyo pushed a button on its smooth metal surface. Instantly a loud whirring noise filled the long passageway.

"It's a drill!" Eriol realised.

Tomoyo nodded as small mechanical drill bit into the wall. Sprays of broken rock and dust flew into the air as the metal tip drilled through the concrete. For a few seconds, it continued burrowing through the wall before stopping. The drill retracted with a clank as Tomoyo pulled the drill and tripod away. She studied the small hole they had made in the wall.

"That's it?!" Michelle gasped, "Uhh… Tomoyo unless you've got some amazing shrinking ray with you, there's no way we can fit in there."

Tomoyo smirked at her.

"Don't worry, I've already got it all worked out."  
"Just hurry up," Meiling snapped, speaking for the first time in hours, "We don't have much time."

"Right," Tomoyo nodded.

She set up the drill again in another area on the wall before starting it up again. Within the next few minutes, Tomoyo continued adjusting the drill and tripod, making small holes all across the concrete wall.

"Here, help me," Tomoyo called out pulling the drill away from the wall.

She reached back into her bag and threw her friends a few small packets. Michelle opened up one gingerly and peered itself. It looked like white chewing gum.

"What the?" she looked questioningly at Tomoyo.

"Plastic explosives?" Eriol asked.

Tomoyo nodded and broke bit of it off and stuffed it inside one of the holes, pushing it in tightly. The others quickly realised what she was doing and began filling up the other holes with explosives as well.

Tomoyo quickly stuck a small metal pin in each wad of explosive. Working fast, she stuck a long length of metal cord to each pin before twisting them together. She began backing away from the wall trailing the long metal wires behind her.

"Go around the corner," Tomoyo commanded.

They scrambled to get away from the wall as Tomoyo hooked the wires up to a small black box with a metal switch on it.

"Okay, clear the way!" she called out, "One! Two! Three!"

On three, she flipped the switch.

"BOOM!"

A dull muffled roar shook the sewers as dust roared down the passageway. Safe beyond the reach of the explosive, the group watched as the debris began to settle. Whistling cheerfully, Tomoyo walked back towards the wall. Michelle and Eriol made small noises of surprise as the sight greeting them.

A huge circular chunk of concrete had been blown free from the wall making a large rough hole leading into darkness.

"I calculated the explosives so that it only has enough effect to make the hole," Tomoyo told them, "I also made sure the sound and concussive waves won't be felt above, so we should still be undetected."

"Good job," Meiling said flatly, "Let's go."

Before anyone could stop her, she climbed through the hole. Looking at each other worriedly, the others followed.

They crawled through the hole into large concrete room. Sports equipment, instruments and boxes all cluttered the area. There was no doubt they were in the school.

"Everyone got their comm-links?" Tomoyo asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Good, okay, next step," Tomoyo grinned, "Let's get one of those bastards!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Byron patrolled the school's empty hallways, gun at the ready as his dark eyes swept the area looking for any sign of life.

"Pssss!"

He whirled around with a cry. A slim blonde-haired woman winked at him cheerfully.

"Hey there hot stuff," she called out.

"What the?!"

Michelle whirled around and dashed off as Byron gaped at her. Snapping out of his stupor, Byron grabbed the walkie-talkie attached to his belt and switched it on.

"Diego?"

'_Yeah?!' _Diego growled.

"I think we have a problem. I'm going to check it out."

Before Diego could reply, Byron clicked the communication device off and ran off down the hallway.

Michelle waited patiently at the end of the hallway as Byron turned the corner.

"Who are you?!" Byron roared, "How did you get here? How come we haven't seen you before?"

"Mister? Can you help me?" Michelle grinned, ignoring his question, "I'm looking for the toilets and I have no idea where they are!"

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Byron screamed out.

He charged at her.

"BAM!"

A fist shot out from nowhere and blasted into the side of his head sending him crashing to the ground. Meiling stepped out from her hiding place behind a cupboard as Byron scrambled to his feet.

"What the f…"

He raised his gun but Meiling batted it away, her red eyes flashing, face pale. Ruthlessly, she punched him in the face breaking his nose.

"Not yet!" Tomoyo cried out as she leapt out from one of empty classrooms, "He needs to keep talking!"

Meiling turned to her friend as she continued strangling the man with her bare hands. Growling, Meiling let him go.

"You!" Byron finally realised who they were, "You're the three women Diego was talking about! I thought you were…"

Meiling kicked him in the gut causing him to keel over.

"MEILING!" Tomoyo yelled out.

"I thought you were just… something Garrett made up," Byron whimpered, "I thought…"

"CRACK!"

Meiling kneed him the face before grabbing him and hurling him to the ground. With a cry, she fell on him punching him repeatedly in the face. Michelle leapt into the fray pulling Meiling away. The ruby-eyed Angel fought her violently as Eriol joined in. Together they hauled Meiling away from the unconscious bleeding man.

"Did you get it?!" Michelle panted.

Tomoyo was typing madly away at her laptop.

"Yeah, I think I recorded enough of his voice."

'_Byron?' _

The walkie-talkie crackled into life.

'_BYRON? REPORT IT DAMNIT!'_

Motioning to her friends to be quiet, Tomoyo walked up to the walkie-talkie. Placing it near her laptop's speakers, Tomoyo hit a button on the keyboard.

"Diego."

Byron's recorded voice came in through the speakers.

'_You're there?' _Diego snarled, "Good, what the hell did you mean before? What trouble?'

"I thought I saw something… I didn't," the laptop supplied.

'_Just keep patrolling!' _Diego screamed, _'And stop imagining things.'_

The walkie-talkie went dead as Tomoyo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good thing, the program worked. I was lucky I recorded enough to splice together a response in his voice," Tomoyo muttered.

Grabbing the walkie-talkie, Tomoyo easily popped the back panel off revealing the mess of wires beneath. She pulled some free, attaching metal clips to them before inserting the plugs at the end of them to her laptop.

She typed in a few things and waited.

"Okay, I'm patched into their frequency now," Tomoyo announced.

"So next phase?" Eriol asked.

Tomoyo nodded.

"Good," Meiling growled, "Let's move!"

She stalked off as Eriol and Michelle hurried to catch up to her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diego turned his walkie-talkie on.

"Roark? Patrol the southern halls," he commanded.

'_On my way,' _Roark's gravely voiced rumbled out.

Diego switched his walkie-talkie off and strolled back to the group of terrified hostages.

"So kids… what are you doing in school today?" he sneered.

He took a menacing step towards the children and his smile widened as they recoiled away from him, huddling closer together for protection.

"Well, miss," he turned to one of young teachers, "What are you doing later? I would love to take you out to dinner… you know wine and dine you and see where that takes us."

He leered at her, his eyes lingering dirtily on her lithe body as the teacher blanched and tried not to let her fear show.

"Le… le… let the children go," she managed to quiver out, "Yo… you… don't know them as hostages. Just keep the teachers."

Diego tapped his chin in mock deep thought.

"Hmmm… let these cute little darlings go?" he smirked, "You've got guts woman."

"BAM!"

He viciously backhanded the teacher as the children screamed. The young woman slumped against the wall, blood pouring from her mouth as Diego smiled viciously down at her.

"But like all women you should just sit there and look pretty," Diego advised calmly.

He turned to another of the female teachers.

"So what are you doing later? I would love to take you out to dinner…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

'_On my way.' _

Roark's voice came through her headphones as Tomoyo smirked. She typed into her laptop and pressed a finger against the comm-link nestled in her ear.

"Michelle? Southern halls. There's someone coming. Remember I need to record his voice before you take him out."

'_Will do,' _Michelle's voice came in through the comm-link.

Tomoyo disengaged communications as she sat and waited.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle reached in her jacket and pulled out a small recording device. Switching it on, she crouched down behind a row of lockers and waited.

It didn't take long. Heavy footsteps rang out around the deserted hallway as Michelle smiled.

"Showtime," she muttered to herself.

The footsteps got louder as Roark approached.

"Hey!" Michelle stepped out from her hiding place.

Roark gaped at her.

"This place is kinda dirty… " Michelle smirked, "Don't you think it needs some cleaning?"

"Cleaning?!" Roark stammered, "What… who are you?"

"Funny, that's what Byron asked me," Michelle said conversationally.

"Byron!" Roark's face hardened, "What did you do to him?"

He raised his weapon threatening.

"What did you do?!" he screamed.

Michelle smiled politely and yanked something out of her pocket. Hitting the trigger, she smiled in satisfaction as the stun gun came to life, shooting out two metal prongs. The prongs hit Roark as electricity coursed down the wires blasting the man with a powerful paralysing shock.

He jerked to the ground, weapon falling out of his hand as Michelle casually walked towards him.

Roark looked up at her, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Thugs," Michelle sighed, "They really don't make them as they used to."

"CRACK!"

She back-heeled him in the face knocking him out. Carefully she dragged him into one of the empty classrooms and stuffed him into a cupboard. Whistling to herself, she closed the door and jammed a chair beneath the knob effectively locking it shut before turning on her comm-link.

"Got him," she told Tomoyo, "Did you get enough?"

'_Yep,' _Tomoyo replied, _'Move to the East Hall with Eriol and wait for further instructions.' _

Michelle nodded and hurried off.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo smiled and began typing on her laptop.

'_Cleaning?! What… who are you?' _Roark's recorded voice came through her speakers.

Humming, she began taking sections of the sentence blending and splicing them together. When she finished, she patched back into the walkie-talkie frequency. She punched in a number and waited.

'_Yes?' _Diego's voice came in loud and clear.

'_All clear,' _her laptop supplied in Roark's gravely voice.

'_Good,' _Diego replied, _'Keep patrolling.' _

The line went silent as Tomoyo smiled.

"Two down," she muttered.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle turned the corner and blinked in confusion as she spotted Eriol perched on top of a chair fiddling with a loudspeaker attached to the wall.

"What are you doing?" she hissed closing the classroom down behind her.

Eriol jumped slightly at her voice but turned around.

"Hey," he grinned easily.

He turned back to the loudspeaker and yanked strongly pulling out a bundle of wire.

"What are you doing?" Michelle repeated.

"Getting into the P.A. system," Eriol replied, he cut some of the wires and began rewiring them into a small silver box he had set on the small ledge below the speaker.

Michelle blinked.

"Why?" she asked.

"Tomoyo cooked up this little device," Eriol tapped the silver box, "I hook it up to any of the speakers and it can access the whole system. Instead of projecting noise from the speakers, this device turns each speaker into a listening device. It feeds back into Tomoyo's laptop so now the whole P.A. systems turned into a type of audio-spying network."

Michelle continued to stare at him, not understanding.

"Huh?" Michelle repeated.

Eriol smiled wryly.

"It means using the speakers placed all throughout the school, Tomoyo can now listen in on people."

"Handy," Michelle noted.

"Hey, you heard from Meiling?" Eriol asked.

Michelle shrugged.

"Nope," she bit her lip, "I really hope she's not something stupid or rash. You know how she gets when she's…"

"Homicidally enraged?" Eriol supplied helpfully.

Michelle sighed.

"Let's hope she's still thinking straight."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling stalked her prey all down the hallway, darting from hiding spot to hiding spot, getting closer and closer to her victim…

"Still nothing," the man reported through his walkie-talkie.

Meiling smiled dangerously. She had recorded enough.

"Dead meat," Meiling hissed.

With a loud cry, she burst out from her hiding place. The crony whirled around but Meiling spear tackled him to the ground, sucker-punching him in the face as they fell. She rolled with the fall as the man scrambled to get up and point his gun at her. But Meiling lashed out, kicking the gun away into a corner before flipping to her feet.

"CRACK!"

A right hook smashed into the man's face as he tried to bring his fists up in defence. Brutally, Meiling hacked away at his defences firing off blistering blows before surging forwards with a vicious screamed.

A powerful kick slammed straight into his knee. With a sickening pop, the joint popped out of its socket as the man fell to the ground screeching in pain.

Ruthlessly, Meiling stomped down on his arm splintering bone with a nauseating crack as the man screamed even louder and higher.

"Die slow," Meiling hissed.

She stomped on his chest crushing ribs before dragging him up by the collar. With a feral cry, she punched him full in the face. His head snapped backwards cracking against the ground before he slumped backwards out cold.

Heaving heavily, Meiling casually tossed his body into a classroom before slamming the door shut. Stalking forwards down the hall, Meiling's ruby eyes roved around the empty corridors looking for her next victim.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Another of Diego's cronies wandered down the hallway, guns held loosely by his side as he meandered aimlessly obviously not believing there was anyone loose in the building.

"PWHIP! PWHIP!"

His eyes bulged in shock as he stared wordlessly down at his chest, at the two long darts embedded there. He opened his mouth to scream but no words came out. With a small quiet sigh, he fell to the ground, out cold.

"Good shot," Michelle muttered.

Eriol lowered his tranquilliser gun smiling modestly.

"Let's hide him," he muttered.

They dragged the man into another classroom. Eriol glanced towards the loudspeaker perched on the wall.

"Another one down Tomoyo," he said clearly.

'_Gotcha,' _Tomoyo said through the comm-link.

Nodding, Eriol and Michelle darted out of the room as inside the cleaning supply closet, Tomoyo smiled happily.

Everything was going to plan.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling adjusted her grip slightly but she was safely nestled up in the ceiling, pushing up against two columns as she listened in on the conversation down below.

"Seen anything?" Earl asked.

Three of Diego's thugs had run into each other in the hallway.

"Nah," Kyle muttered, "I swear to god, these three women thing is a myth or something. Ain't that right, Robert?"

"You better not let the boss hear ya," Robert smirked, "Otherwise he'll have your guts for gar…"  
"YAAAAHHHHH!!"

Meiling dropped down from the perch and fell on the trio of cronies with brutal force. All three guns were sent flying. Earl was instantly blasted away by a kick as Meiling threw her arms around Kyle's neck choking him before slamming him down. Robert's legs were caught in a scissor kick before he too was sent crashing to the floor.

Earl recovered and leapt back into the fray but Meiling was ready, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him into the lockers. Metal dented beneath his body as he sailed into them, hitting them with a spectacular bang.

Kyle backed up hurriedly, terrified as Robert fell beneath a flurry of kicks and punches. Grabbing the barely conscious Robert by the face and cracking his head back into the hard ground, Meiling looked up and snarled into Kyle's face.

"You're next," she promised.

Kyle instantly reached for his walkie-talkie.

"DIEGO! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!!" he screeched into it, "THE WOMEN ARE HERE!!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo froze as Kyle's voice came in through the laptop.

"Crap."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diego's eyes widened.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

'Northern hall near the arts room,' Kyle reported frantically, 'COME! QUICK!'

Diego smirked.

"You four with me," Diego pointed at some of the gunmen watching over the hostages, "Let's move!"

Marching out the door, Diego tossed a final look at his hostages as his last two men kept them in their gun's sights.

"See you later kiddies," he grinned, "I've got some women to kill."

Cowering near her friends, Lily felt a sudden surge of hope course through her body.

Women?!

Her mommy was here!

Unseen by the others, a small smile curled Lily's lips. It was only a matter of time before they were free.

She just knew it.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kyle screamed in pain as Meiling lashed out punching him in the face. His next cry was abruptly cut off as she struck him in the throat. He instantly fell to the ground, spasming wildly as he coughed up white foam.

She turned to the last of the trio. Earl was scrambling towards his gun as Meiling grinned.

"Seemed like a good idea didn't it?" she taunted as she stalked towards him stepping over Robert's prone body, "Holding little kids hostage. Less resistance and all."

Her eyes were burning with fury.

"Just one problem with that…"

She stomped on Earl's hand breaking bones as Earl screamed. Slowly she leaned into his terrified face.

"My daughter is one of those hostages and no-one…"

She grabbed him by the collar.

"No one messes with my FAMILY!!"  
With a scream, she threw him into the air. A powerful kick slammed into his chest sending him flying into a door. Wood and glass shattered as Earl crashed straight through the door and onto the other side. He laid amongst the rubble, out cold.

'_MEILING!' _Tomoyo's voice came in frantically through the comm-link, _'Get out of there! Diego's coming with his men! Re-group with the others and we'll…'_

"Diego's coming?" Meiling interrupted.

'Yeah but…'

A cold smile crossed Meiling's face.

"_Good."_

Before Tomoyo could say another world, Meiling switched off her comm-link. She cracked her knuckles and waited for the fight that would inevitably come.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"GOD DAMN IT!" Tomoyo screeched as she tried to re-connect with Meiling.

She tapped into Eriol and Michelle.

"GET TO THE NORTHERN HALL NEAR THE ARTS ROOM!" she screamed, "BLOODY MEILING'S GOING TO GET HERSELF KILLED!"

Before the duo could respond, Tomoyo dashed out of the closet and began sprinting down towards the northern hall.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

'BLOODY MEILING'S GOING TO GET HERSELF KILLED!!'

Michelle and Eriol winced at the volume of Tomoyo's cry before the message sunk in. They stared at each other before sprinting off down the hall.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diego marched purposely down the hall, his four men flanking his sides. He rounded the corner and froze momentarily at the sight of Robert, Kyle and Earl's unconscious bodies and the destruction all around their prone forms.

His face hardened.

"Spread out, search for them," he commanded coldly.

His four men immediately moved forwards as Diego readied his gun and took a step forwards.

"ARGH!" one of his men suddenly screamed out in pain.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

Diego sprinted down the hall, he whipped around the corner and instantly ducked as an unconscious body was hurled straight at him. The unlucky victim hit the ground with a smack as Diego straightened.

A tall raven-haired woman with blazing ruby eyes glared at him, a gun stolen from his downed man in her hands.

Diego roared and raised his gun to fire.

"BANG!"

Coolly, Meiling aimed and fired. The bullet tore through the air, hitting Diego's gun with pinpoint accuracy instantly shredding the barrel into serrated metal fragments. Diego cried out as shrapnel bit into his arm and face as the useless gun fell from his injured hands.

Meiling dropped her gun.

"Much better," she snarled.

Before Diego could talk, she hurled herself straight at him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Well this is boring," Nakuru muttered as she stood watching the T.V.

For the past two hours, nothing new had developed at the site of besieged school. By now some of the CIA agents had drifted away but most still remained watching the TV.

Tara Knight, the reporter, continued to talk on screen chattering inanely about various facts about Diego Simmons, the supposed ringleader of this attack on the school. Touya yawned and rubbed his head.

Suddenly…

"BANG!"

"Was that a gunshot?!" Tara Knight wailed on screen.

The agents froze, the familiar sound of gunfire freezing their blood. The children in the school!

There was a long length silence then…

"BANG!"

"We have just heard gunshots! Repeat we have just heard gunshots!" Tara cried out frantically, "Stay tune to learn more about this latest shocking development!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"BANG!"

Meiling froze, her fists mere inches away from Diego's face. One of his men pointed his gun at her: his first shot a warning one that missed her by miles.

"Get away from him!" the man commanded.

Diego smirked.

"Thanks Jerry," he complimented.

Meiling narrowed her eyes dangerously but backed off a little as Diego laughed.

"So you're one of the women that Garrett talked about…"

Meiling froze.

"Garrett?!" she muttered, stunned.

"He was the one who came up with this plan… just to lure you here," Diego sniggered, "Well, I guess it worked."

Diego gestured for Jerry to step forwards, an eerie grin on his face.

"Kill her."

Jerry raised his gun as Meiling tensed.

"PWHIP!"

Diego cried out in shock as Jerry fell to the ground, a dart embedded in his neck. Meiling whirled around. Eriol slowly lowered his tranquilliser gun, giving Meiling a thumbs up.

"Hey," he called cheerfully, "Need a white knight?"

"MARCEL! DARIUS!!" Diego cried out, "GET YOUR ASSESS HERE!"

"Sorry," a new voice said from behind him, "Goon number one and two are long gone."

A slim blonde woman casually deposited the prone figure of Darius onto the ground as just behind her, a grey-haired woman dumped Marcel on the floor. Diego whirled around but he was trapped.

"Now…" Meiling cracked her knuckles, "Where were we?"

Diego's hand instantly plunged into his jacket. Eriol raised his gun again but he was too slow. Diego pulled out a small grenade and pulled the pin.

"BANG!!"

Smoke instantly filled the hall blinding everyone as Michelle and Tomoyo felt someone push past them. They cried out and tried to grab onto the fleeing Diego but he easily fought them off.

The sound of pounding footsteps faded as the smoke slowly cleared. The Angels and Eriol coughed violently trying to suck in enough air to clear their throats.  
Meiling looked up, furious.

"AFTER HIM!!" she roared.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The door to the classroom banged open as Diego charged in, his eyes wild. The children, teachers and his cronies stared at him in shock as Diego slammed the door shut behind him.

"GET THE MICROPHONE!!" Diego screamed.

One of his men hurried to push it to him as Diego glared at the people staring at him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" he screeched.

He snatched the microphone up and instantly turned it on.

"SURRENDER YOURSELVES!!" he screamed into microphone, "SURRENDER YOURSELF TO ME NOW OR I START KILLING THE HOSTAGES!!"

He slammed the microphone down before whirling on his victims. They cried out and tried to get away from him as he raged and screamed.

"THOSE BLOODY BITCHES!!" Diego screamed, "WHEN THEY COME HERE!! KILL THEM!! KILL THEM ALL!!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Fantastic," Michelle groaned as Diego's screeching voice slowly faded.

"Crap," Tomoyo bit her lip, "Exactly the situation I was trying to avoid…"

She set Meiling a resentful look but Meiling was too consumed in her wrath to even see it.

"So what do we do now?" Eriol asked grimly.

A mysterious smile flashed across Tomoyo's face.

"We go to plan B."

"We have a plan B?" Michelle asked surprised.

Tomoyo winked at her.

"We do now."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diego paced the classroom, swearing violently under his breath as his men kept their guns trained on the students.

"Diego Simmons!" a clear voice rang out through the door, "We're here!"

Diego's eyes instantly lit up. Cautiously he moved to the door and peered out through the small window to the hall outside. Sure enough, the three women and a man were standing outside, their hands held up to show that they were weapon-less.

"Let the hostages go and we'll come peacefully!" the blonde-haired woman said.

Diego sneered to himself.

He gestured to his men.

"When I open the door, kill them," he spat.

Lily froze, her face pale.

"No…" she whimpered, "No…"

Diego nodded to his men and began opening the door.

"NOOOOOO!!" Lily screamed out, a cry echoed by her classmates and teachers.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!"

At almost the instant time, the P.A. system went nuts. A high-pitched, window-shaking, deafening screech blasted out from all the speakers all around the school. The screeching feedback went on and on drowning out everything else as Diego and his men screamed out in pain, clapping their hands on their ears.

Instantly the Angels and Eriol barrelled into the room, unaffected by the sound. A swift kick sent the door flying backwards knocking Diego onto his back.

Eriol aimed and swiftly fired, tranquillising darts hitting their targets as men fell to the ground, twitching.

The children were screaming, their eardrums almost bursting as the screeching went on and on.

With brutal efficiency, the Angels took down Diego's men. Michelle spin kicked on them into the window, the force of the blow sending him crashing through the pane of glass to the yard outside.

Tomoyo karate-chopped a man in the neck knocking him out before grabbing a chair and cracking it across another man's face.

Meiling was by the far the most terrifying fighter. Bones splintered under her blows as blood and shattered teeth flew through the air. Brushing aside all opponents, Meiling was one who landed the final blow, taking down the last man with a crunching uppercut.

Seeing that every enemy was taken care off, Tomoyo reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She hit a button and the P.A. system went silent.

"Phew," Michelle pulled out her ear-plugs as her fellow Angels did the same, "Peace at last."

The children stared up at them, terrified.

"Howdy," Michelle gave them a small wave, "Hiya kiddies."

But Meiling's eyes were for one child only. Lily beamed up at her, tears streaming down her face as Meiling trembled violently.

"BITCH!"

Meiling fell with a cry as Diego cracked the back of her head with his rifle. Eriol roared and raised his gun. He pulled the trigger but nothing happened. He was out of darts!

Diego whirled around and screamed as he realised that all his men was taken off. With a final desperate lunge, his hard hands grabbed onto a single hostage, wrenching the poor child away from the huddle of hostages. He whirled around and sprinted towards the door. Tomoyo and Michelle stumbled over the bodies of Diego's downed cronies, too slow and far away to get to him.

Eriol tried to stop him but Diego kicked him out of the way as he dragged his hostage with him down the hall.

His victim's terrified screams echoed down the halls as Diego vanished back into the corridors.

Michelle, Tomoyo and Eriol stared after him in shock. Meiling slowly pulled herself up, her ruby eyes spilling with tears.

"LILY!!" she screamed, "LILY!!"

But she was gone, taken by Diego Simmons.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett suddenly shuddered.

"What?" Anthony demanded.

Garrett's tongue flicked out his mouth as he tasted the air like a snake.

"Something's wrong," he murmured gently.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he tested the world around with his magic trying to understand what he was sensing.

"Rage."

Garrett opened his mouth and smiled.

"Oooo… I can feel it…"

"What?" Anthony repeated, glaring at him.

"There's rage in the air," Garrett smirked, "And someone's going to get killed."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Meiling…" Tomoyo began.

But Meiling was already on her feet.

"Wait…" Michelle tried.

Without a backwards glance, Meiling sprinted off after Diego, moving way too fast for them to catch up.

"Stay here," Tomoyo commanded to Michelle, "Watch the children."

She nodded to Eriol.

"Let's go."

The duo took off as Michelle scowled, not wanting to be left behind. She sighed and turned to the petrified hostages.

"So… who wants to get out of here?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling pounded down the hallway, the sound of Lily's screams showing her the way. She caught a glimpse of Diego as he sprinted down the hall, dragging Lily behind him. He darted into a doorway, slamming the door shut behind him as Meiling screamed in rage and charged after him.

"CLANG!"

She tried to push the door open but it resisted her movements, locked in place. Without even thinking, she reared backwards and kicked the door open almost hurling the thing off its hinges. Instantly she leapt over the wreckage and looked around.

She was staring at a stairwell that spiralled up into the levels of the school beyond. Lily's hiccuping cries floated down towards her as Meiling's eyes flashed and she sprinted upwards, tearing up the stairs towards her daughter.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo and Eriol sprinted down the hall trailing Meiling as they struggled to keep up with the ruby-eyed woman.

A loud bang caused them to pause and glance at each other in surprise. They instantly continued their sprint down the hall following the source of the noise.

"Damn," Eriol muttered impressed as he viewed the wreckage of the door.

"She's going to tear Diego to pieces," Tomoyo said grimly, lavender eyes flashing.

"Are we going to stop her?" Eriol asked glancing at his girlfriend.

Tomoyo shrugged voicelessly.

The clatter of footsteps drew their attention to the stairs above.

"Let's go," Tomoyo urged grabbing Eriol's arm and leading up upwards.

"And we have just heard gunshots inside the besieged school," Tara Knight said grimly towards the camera, "There's been no news of causalities or inju… wait?! What's going on?"

The camera swung towards the front of the primary school as the crowd began screaming. The front door was swinging open revealing…

"Go! Flee little ones! Go!" Michelle said jovially as the children around her shrieked and dashed towards the crowd of parents.

The teachers managed to nod at her dazedly before they tottered out of the school. Michelle leaned up against the doorway, smiling in satisfaction as the parents in the crowd raced forwards breaking through the police lines before scooping their children up, crying in joy.

Suddenly a scream from above drew her attention to the school's roof. Frowning, she raced outside pushing through the crowd as she tried to see up onto the roof.

What she saw made her gasp in shock.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diego Simmons kicked the door open and raced out onto the school building's roof. Lily was screaming now, tears flowing freely down her face.

"SHUT UP!" Diego screamed, "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!"

Furious he shook the girl viciously slamming her across the mouth to shut her up. Lily whimpered as blood gushed out from her mouth, she instantly turned pale and began to tremble violently.

Sneering in disgust, Diego dragged her across the school rooftop, racing towards the edge. He looked out in alarm at the scene spread out before him. Police had surrounded the school, their cars blocking every possible avenue of escape.

"Stupid son of a…" Diego swore as he swung back towards the way he had come looking for a way off the school rooftop.

Suddenly a police helicopter swung by overhead, its rotors spinning powerfully. Diego cried out and shoved Lily aside as he tried to hide behind an exhaust duct.

But it was too late.

"DIEGO SIMMONS!" a megaphone on the helicopter boomed out, "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! SURRENDER NOW OR WE WILL SHOOT YOU!"

Diego sneered at the helicopter and grabbed Lily by the throat, shoving his gun at her face. He shook his fist at the helicopter silently but the message was clear: back off or the girl dies.

The helicopter hovered in the air for a second before swinging away. Diego slowly began to back away from the roof edge as the police began looking up, letting out cries as they spotted him.

"Shit," Diego began to run back towards the stairs but…

"Let go of her," Meiling emerged from the darkness of the stairs onto the sunlit roof top, fury rolling off her in almost tangible waves.

With the wind blowing her hair and clothing and the sunlight lighting up her ruby eyes, she was like a vengeful goddess from a bygone eon, all fury and hatred with no hint of mercy or humanity.

"NOW!" her voice lashed out through the air.

"I suggest you back away before I blow this girl's head off!" Diego spat waving the gun at Lily at the girl cried.

Her hands reached out towards Meiling, her eyes silently begging for help. Meiling felt her heart break as she stared into Lily's bright blue hopeful eyes.

"BACK AWAY!" Diego screamed.

Lily stared at her mother in horror as Meiling stood there, wavering. Slowly she began to move away from the stairway entrance.

"Move to the edge! MOVE!!" Diego screamed, still jabbing the gun at Lily.

Slowly, reluctantly, Meiling moved to the rooftop edge as Diego began moving forwards, his eyes trained on Meiling.

Without warning, he pointed his gun down the stairway and fired repeatedly. There was a surprised cry from below.

"GET OUT HERE NOW!" Diego screamed, "DID YOU THINK I WAS THAT STUPID?! GET OUT HERE!!"

Slowly, Tomoyo and Eriol emerged onto the rooftop blinking in the bright sun. With Diego's gun trained on Lily, the two of them were also forced away from the stairwell leaving the way free for Diego.

"Where's the third one?" Diego spat, "Where is she?"

"She's with the children," Tomoyo said hatefully, "She's not here."

Diego narrowed his eyes at Tomoyo but she stared defiantly back at him. After a long agonising moment, he nodded briskly.

"Good, now," Diego took a step forwards, "Move to the edge, all three of you! Move!"

He took a step backwards.

"If any of you three move before I leave the stairs, this little darling," he shook Lily roughly, "Is going to get it! Got it?!"

The three of them stared at him, hatred etched into every line on their faces.

"GOT IT?!"

Reluctantly, the three of them nodded.

"Good," Diego grinned, "See you around losers!"

And he slowly began to back off.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The police were looking up in shock now at the scene unfolding on the rooftop. They watched in horror as Diego forced all three people away from him before he began to make it back towards the school, back to relative safety.

Michelle cursed and looked around. Some police had pulled out their guns and rifles but the firearms were either too weak to reach the roof or were too powerful, running the risk of killing Lily along with Diego.

Face hardening, Michelle reached into the pack on her bag and pulled out a gun. Cries of alarm sounded around her as some police began to point their weapons towards her.

Ignoring them, Michelle took air and with a quick prayer pulled the trigger.

"PWHIP!!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A look of surprise crossed Diego's face as something shot up into the air, arcing gracefully before smacking him full in the face. He stumbled backwards, Lily and the gun falling of his hands as sharp metal edges dug into his face.

Tomoyo and Eriol blinked in surprise as the grapple hook, with a long trailing metal cable attached, hit the ground with a clang. Diego clutching his bleeding face beside it.

Tomoyo turned and stared down at the crowd. She instantly recognised Michelle's slim figure as she lowered the grappling hook gun.

Smiling she turned back to Diego. Meiling had already sprung forwards, shoving Lily towards Eriol before kicking Diego's gun away.

Diego looked up into Meiling's furious face.

"CRACK!"

The first blow sent him skidding across the rooftop as Meiling lunged after him. Expertly, Diego flipped back onto his feet meeting Meiling's punch by grabbing on her fist and throwing her away.

Meiling slid across the ground but quickly recovered her balance before throwing a left-right hook at Diego. Diego swatted the blows away before kicking out. Meiling easily blocked it with her knee before head-butting Diego in the face.

Diego fell backwards with a cry, blooding spurting from his nose.

"YOU BITCH! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

Meiling smiled coldly at him and merely gestured with her hands daring him to come forwards.

Unseen by both fighters, Eriol herded Lily towards the stairwell.

"But Uncle Eriol!" Lily protested fiercely, "Mom's still in danger!"

Eriol shook his head, a small grim smile flashing cross his face.

"No… I think it's Diego you should be worrying about," he said firmly before pushing her into the stairwell and slamming the door shut behind them, cutting Lily off from the fight on the rooftop.

Diego charged forwards with a roar but Meiling easily countered his roundhouse kick, throwing him to the ground before knee-dropping him in the gut knocking the air from his lungs.

With a vicious cry, she began lashing out punching him repeatedly in the face. Diego screamed and screamed as she continued to beat him into submission.

"MEILING!" Tomoyo's arms encircled her friend's chest and yanked her away, "COOL IT!"  
"THAT BASTARD!!" Meiling screamed, "He was going to… he was going to …"

"I know," Tomoyo said calmly, "But you can't kill him… let him rot in jail for the rest of his life."

Meiling snarled at Tomoyo but visibly pushed her rage down as Tomoyo let out a low sigh of relief.

"Thank you…" Diego managed to groan out.

"Don't thank me scum," Tomoyo advised him viciously, "I was just making sure my friend didn't wind up in jail for an ass like you."

Giving him one last hateful look, the two of them turned away leaving the broken man to bleed on the ground.

"Wait…"

They turned back. Diego was slowly climbing to his feet, a maniacal grin on his face.

"You'll never get me," he said calmly even as blood spilled from his mouth.

Before either of them could move, Diego sprinted towards the roof's edge shoving past them before hurling himself off the school building. For a split second, his body hung in the air before plummeting down onto the unforgiving ground below.

Tomoyo and Meiling blinked in shock as from below screams rang out signalling what had just happened.

"Idiot," Meiling managed to get out as she sagged into her friend.

Tomoyo shook her head.

"Well, at least its saves the cost of a trial," she said wearily, "Come on… let's get you and Lily home."

And she slowly began to lead her friend off the roof.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo and Michelle sat on the curb, fatigue almost paralysing their body as they watch the police bundle Diego's cronies into various police cars.

"Soo… good times," Michelle said finally.

"It's been a long day," Tomoyo agreed.

They fell into silence again.

"I almost had a heart attack when Diego threw himself off the roof, I thought it was one of you guys," Michelle shook her head, "I still can't believe he jumped."

"I guess he really didn't like jails."

"Yeah, guess so."

Eriol joined them, a satisfied smile on his face.

"The police's got all of them now," he reported referring to the cronies, "And the coroner's almost done scraping Diego off the pavement."

Tomoyo and Michelle grimaced but didn't say anything.  
"How's Lily?" Tomoyo asked.  
"Just look," Eriol turned and pointed.

Amidst the chaos of police and paramedics, the Flaron family stood, their arms coiled tight around one another. Meiling and Marcus were clinging to their daughter with all their might as the fears of what ifs and possibilities began to fade under the force of reality: they were all save and sound.

"Good shot by the way," Eriol said, "With the grappling hook."

"You were lucky you hit Diego," Tomoyo agreed.

"Luck?!' Michelle raised an eyebrow, "I prefer to call it skill or talent."

Tomoyo raised an eyebrow.

"Okay… so it was kinda lucky," Michelle admitted, "But hey, it got the job done."

The three of them nodded. Suddenly Tomoyo's phone began ringing. Blinking, she pulled it out her pocket and flipped it open. Putting it to her ear, Tomoyo frowned.

"Hello?"

'_Good job,'_ a familiar voice rasped out.

"Who's this?" Tomoyo demanded.

'_An old friend.'_

"Wha?!" Tomoyo blinked.

'_Andretti and Diego's only the first test,' _the voice continued, _'I'm guessing your darling Eriol's next to you?'_

"Andretti?" the lavender-eyed Angel was puzzled.

Beside her, Michelle froze. Stunned, she turned to look at Tomoyo in shock.

"What's going o…" she began hurriedly, Tomoyo cut her off with a shake of her head.

"Who is this?"

The voice ignored her.

'_How well do you know your boyfriend?' _the voice asked her, _'Cos let's just say… he's going to get a blast from the past.'_

"What the hell?"

The line went silent. Dumbly, Tomoyo pulled her phone away from her ear and stared down at it.

"Tomoyo?" Eriol nudged her, "What is it?"

She turned and stared at him wordlessly.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura put the phone down and sighed.

"When is our guest arriving?" Anthony asked.

"The day after tomorrow," Sakura replied.

"Good," Garrett smiled, "We've got to keep them busy."

Sakura nodded before turning away, a look of fear flashing across her face.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I love you," Marcus murmured as they stood amongst the flashing lights of police cars and ambulance, "I love you both."

He hugged Lily and Meiling to him tightly.

"I was so scared," Meiling said, her voice soft and frail, "Oh god I was so…"

Tears spilled down her face as she knelt down and kissed the top of Lily's head.

"I wasn't," Lily said earnestly, "Because I knew you would come and save me."

Meiling laughed wetly before hugging her again. Marcus smiled down at them, relief making his body shake.

"Let's do it."

Marcus frowned.

"What?" he asked his fiancée puzzled.

"Let's get married," Meiling was scrubbing her face, brushing the tears away, "We've been engaged for like four years damnit!"

"But… why now?" Marcus asked, hope spread through his body but wanting to make sure.

"I know…" Meiling swallowed thickly, "We've put it off ever since Sakura… but today… I just realised how easy I could lose both of you so let's not waste time! Let's do it already! Let's get married!"

A grin spread across Marcus's face lighting up his handsome face as he flung his arms around Meiling and pulled her roughly into a passionate kiss. Lily cheered and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Hey Aunt 'Moyo! Aunt 'Chelle! Uncle Eriol!" she called out elatedly as the trio of adults walked up towards them, "Guess what?"

She didn't even wait for them to speak.

"I'm going to a be flower girl!!"

A long second of silence.

"WHAT?!"

. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Next chapter:

A blast from the past returns and instantly wages war on the Angels and their allies as the Venom Squad continues to wage war against the Angels. Some of Eriol's dark past is revealed as Tomoyo begins to question what she really knows about her man. However when the dust settles all may not survive this deadly encounter… find out what happens next in… _The Raven_


	17. The Raven

Thanks for all the lovely reviews and here's the next chapter. Also read my Author's Notes below!

**Syaoran's Angels: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 16: The Raven**

"I'm so jealous," Michelle sighed before taking a sip of her latte.

"What?" Indy asked innocently.

Michelle raised an eyebrow at her old friend from her hometown, Hope Falls.

"You're getting paid to wear designer's clothing and stand around looking pretty," Michelle pointed out, "That sucks."

"For you, you mean," Indy said sagely.

Michelle grimaced as Indy laughed.

"So what's your job?" she asked.

There was a pause.

"What do you mean?" Michelle said casually, wiping her mouth delicately.

Indy rolled her eyes.

"What do you do?" she asked, "I mean, all we talk about is my job, my life… how bout you? Got a man?"

"I wish," Michelle sighed, "My job's keeping me busy."

Seeing her friends questioning look, Michelle did the smart thing and began lying to her.

"I work as a P.R. for a multinational company which means I jet around the world a lot," she said vaguely, "I work with two other girls."

"And how about them?" Indy asked.

"Wha?"

"Their love lives? How are theirs?"

Michelle sighed.

"One's engaged and about to be married… finally," she muttered quietly before speaking up, "The other's going steady with her boyfriend of two years."

"See?" Indy said smugly, "Job's keeping you busy… that's a really poor excuse. If those two can get a man why not you?"

"Hey!" Michelle protested, "What happened to the new-aged feminist we-don't-need-a-man-to-make-us-complete message? I'm happy that's all you really need to know."

"Really?" Indy asked infuriatingly.

"I hate you," Michelle growled.

Indy smiled victoriously.

"I hate you too honey," she said sweetly.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I hate him," the dark-haired woman barely more than eighteen said venomously.

"I think we got that the first thirty times," Anthony said dryly.

Sakura turned away from the window she had been staring out of and viewed the scene in front of her. Verona, Anthony and Garrett was sitting across from the dark-haired girl, their eyes fixed on her scowling face.

"Where is he?" the woman demanded.

"Here's the address and our dossier on his known movements," Garrett said smoothly passing over a file.

The girl took it and flipped it open, scanning its contents.

"We trust you can handle this?" Anthony asked patronisingly.

The girl shot him a wrathful look.

"I've waited my whole life for this chance," the girl grinned, "This should be fun."

Sakura blinked at the girl's cold predator grin but said nothing. She really didn't want to be here, didn't want to be part of this but…

"It's what I have to do," she murmured to herself unheard by the others.

The girl stood up.

"Thanks for the help," she said casually.

Garrett smiled, a facial expression that looked menacing and sly on his pasty slim face.

"The pleasure's all ours… Raven."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Remind me why we don't do this more often," Tomoyo said cheerfully as she took another top off the sales rack.

Eriol sighed rubbing his temples feeling a headache coming on.

"Because I just pretend to like this to get sex?" he mumbled.

"Wha?" Tomoyo turned to look at him curiously before a flash of bright colour caught her attention, "Oooo… pretty!"

Practically skipping across the store, Tomoyo held up the skirt and showed it to her boyfriend who was doing the best he can with the huge load of bags he was trying to carry around.

"You like?" Tomoyo smiled.

Eriol had to grin at her enthusiasm.

"I would like you in anything," he replied honestly.

Tomoyo's grin widened before she turned back to the racks.

"Well, this will look great with that top I'm thinking of ge…"

"OH MY GOD!!" one of sales assistant suddenly screamed, "A GUN!! GUN!!"

And the whole store erupted into chaos.

"BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!"

Working on pure instinct, Eriol and Tomoyo threw themselves to the side hiding themselves behind a row of shelves as a semi-automatic rifle went off in a frenzy of light and bullets.

Smoke filled the store as the gunfire went on and on, bullets ripping into glass and metal showering everyone with debris.

Then just as suddenly as it had started, the firing stopped.

Tomoyo and Eriol looked at each other, mouths opened.

"Are you okay?" Tomoyo mouthed to her boyfriend.

Eriol nodded slightly. Silently he slowly stuck his head up over the shelf trying to see who the gunmen was.

"BAM!"

A scream rang out across the store as a bullet slammed into the top of the shelf barely missing Eriol's head. Stunned, Eriol threw himself backwards away from the line of fire.

"Eriol Hiragizawa!" a harsh voice called out, "Come on out and face me!"

Tomoyo stared at Eriol in horror, her mind racing.

"Crap," she murmured remembering the words she had heard only two days before.

_'How well do you know your boyfriend? Cos let's just say he's going to get a blast from the past.'_

The mysterious voice on the phone…

"Who the hell are you?" Tomoyo muttered.

"Fine!" the voice called out again, "We'll do it the hard way."

"TING!"

Something sailed past overhead and landed right next to Eriol's foot. It rolled across the tiled ground before stoping at the base of a shelf.

Eriol's eyes widened in horror.

It was a grenade.

"Oh shi…" Tomoyo threw herself away.

"BOOM!!"  
The grenade detonated throwing flames and debris in every direction.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Let's elope," Marcus announced throwing the magazine aside in disgust.

"No. No. No. No. No," Meiling cried out shoving the magazine back in his hands, "My parents will kill me!"

"I thought you didn't get along!" Marcus retorted.

"We don't… but I'm traditional. They're traditional so we need to have a proper wedding," Meiling decided to pull out the big guns.

Casually she tugged her shirt pulling it tighter across her chest as she batted her eyelids at him.

"Crap," Marcus muttered, "This obvious blatant attempt of seduction is not going to get to me."

Meiling licked her lips slowly and sensually.

Marcus shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Cocking her head to the side, Meiling began playing with the buttons at her shirt, slowly undoing them. Marcus finally cracked.

"Fine," he said tightly.

Meiling smiled.

"I win!" she cheered flipping the bridal magazine back open, "So… a spring or summer wedding."

Silence.

"Marcus?" she turned to her fiancé, "Wha…"

Before she could say a word, Marcus lunged over the table and captured her lips in searing kiss. His hands went under her shirt striking her stomach as Meiling shivered trying to fight over his advances but it felt so very, very good…

"Lily's in the other room," she told her feebly.

Marcus was nibbling at her neck and doing crazy things to her stomach and knees.

"So?"

"Marcus!" Meiling yelped as his hands began to travel up, "Oh screw this!"

She pushed him away and sprung up to her feet.

"Bedroom!" she commanded, "Now!"

Laughing Marcus chased his fiancée into their bedroom.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Coughing violently trying to clear his lungs from the dust and smoke that had lodged itself in his airway, Eriol slowly rolled onto his back wondering if every bone in his body had shattered.

Luckily he had managed to throw himself away from the blast range of the grenade even so the shockwaves had done enough to disorientate him

"Hello sweetheart."

Eriol looked up and stared into a pair of burning black eyes. The young teenager looked down at him, her long black hair framing a pale hate-filled face.

"Who are you?" he croaked.

Fury flashed in her eyes.

"BANG!"

Eriol cried out as the girl kicked him violently in the gut.

"How can you not recognise me?!" the girl shrieked kicking him again, "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!"

She pulled out a long hunting knife playing with it as she glared down at him, teeth bared.

"And I'm here for revenge," she spat, "Bastard!"

She lunged down ready to impale him but Eriol was faster scissor-kicking her foot and knocking her down. The girl fell with a cry as Eriol rolled away, springing to his feet. His attacker flipped back onto her feet, dagger in hand.

"Who are you?" Eriol demanded.

"I called myself Raven," the girl shot back.

Raven dashed forwards screaming as her dagger flashed through the air. Eriol twisted away from the slash jamming his side into her chest, blocking her attempt at the next swing, before punching her in the face. Raven's head snapped back as Eriol kicked her away.

She hit the ground but was up again, her face barely human, wrought with rage and bloodlust.

With a growl, she tossed the dagger to the ground before pulling out a gun.

"DIE!!" she screamed pointing the gun straight at his chest.

"Oh bugger off," a familiar voice snapped out.

Raven cried out as Tomoyo lashed out kicking the gun out of her hands.

"Do you know how much I spent today on new clothes?!" Tomoyo growled, "And now thanks to you… THEY'RE ALL RUINED!!"

Before Raven could speak, Tomoyo grabbed a mannequin off its pedestal and with one vicious movement bludgeoned her across the face with it. Raven hit the deck, completely stunned as Tomoyo tossed the mannequin aside without a second thought.

"Okay now," she cracked her knuckles, "Who the hell are you?"

Raven glared at her.

"Why don't you ask him?" she snarled jabbing her finger in Eriol's direction.

Eriol blinked, trying to think where he had seen her before. Raven's face flushed as her hands clenched themselves into bloodless fists.

"You honestly don't remember do you?" she spat, "Maybe this will jog your memory…"

She slowly crawled to her knees as Tomoyo and Eriol watched her carefully.

"Summer of 2000. Sydney," she said carefully and slowly.

"Wha…"

Before Eriol could say another word, Raven hurled out something straight at them. The flash bang went off in an explosion of intense light and a deafening roar, disorientating them.

When the chaos finally settled, Raven was gone. Tomoyo stared at the spot where she'd been before whirling on her boyfriend.

"What the hell was that about?"

Eriol's face was pale.

"I think I know…" he said shakily.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

The door swung open. Michelle stared at the person standing in the doorway.

"Well…" Michelle said finally, "You look like crap."

"Thanks…" Xiaolang said blearily rubbing his sleep-rumpled hair.

Without another word, Michelle brushed past him.

"Sure," Xiaolang said disgruntled, "Come on in…"

"So, I'm thinking…" Michelle began.

"Well, that can't be good," Xiaolang muttered.

Michelle shot him a disgusted look before continuing.

"Well, this whole I don't care about my personal hygiene and alcohol consumption levels thing is really starting to annoy the living hell out of me," Michelle waved a hand cutting him off before he could protest, "I mean we really could've used your help to rescue Lily but we didn't call you… you know why?"

"Since you're bursting to tell me," Xiaolang growled out, "Why don't you?"

"We knew you'd be too out of it… too high or drunk or too friggin' uncontrollable or whatever," Michelle gave him a compassionate look, "I know you've lost someone you really, really loved and I know it sucks beyond words and all that but…"

She looked at him square in the eyes.

"This can't go on. Your liver is going to die with the alcohol you're drinking. You're going to catch some weird STD from all the one-night girls you're having," she said calmly, "Tomoyo and Meiling are just as torn up about it as you are and that's why they can't confront you. It hurts them too much but I wasn't there… I didn't know her. But I still know that whoever knew Sakura isn't going to get over her death but living like this…"

She swept her hands over the mess his apartment was in.

"You're going to be joining her way before your time."

Xiaolang glared at her.

"Maybe I want to," he snapped.

Michelle smiled sadly.

"No," she corrected gently, "If you really wanted to know you would've killed yourself by now."

Xiaolang blanched.

"You want to live because that's what Sakura would've wanted," Michelle was way too insightful for Xiaolang's liking, "But you want to have the life you had with her. So you're stuck in the middle, you know you need to live but you don't want to. So… here's the million-dollar or whatever your life is worth question… what is it going to be?"

She rested her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you want to live?"

Xiaolang looked at her, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Slowly he looked to the ground, hopelessness crushing his body, drooping his shoulders.

His voice was quiet.

"I can't disappoint her…"

Michelle nodded.

"I want to live."

"Good," Michelle said gently, "Then do it."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"It was in Sydney…"

Eriol was sitting across Tomoyo in her house, his face grim. Tomoyo watched him, an uneasy look on her face.

"I had a job…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

_Flashback_

"BOOM!"

The door exploded inwards in a wave of fire. The bodyguards jumped to their feet as debris bounced off the polished marble floor.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Shots rang out as bullets slammed into the three guards. They dropped to the floor in a spray of red.

A figure stepped through the smoke. Coolly, Eriol reloaded his gun.

"Hmmm…" his eyes swept the decadent mansion, "Nice house."

He took another step forwards.

"FREEZE!!" a loud voice rang out.

Eriol merely stood calmly as a dozen guards charged into the foyer, their guns trained on him. Above in a balcony set on the left wall, more guards appeared.

"All this for me?" Eriol smirked, "I'm flattered."

"POOF!"

Before any of the guards could react, Eriol hurled a smoke grenade straight at the ground. Thick black smoke immediately uncoiled from the grenade obscuring the guards' view.

"FIRE!!" one of the guards screamed.

Immediately a hail of bullets tore through the smoke as the guards tried to hit the assassin.

"Psss!" a voice hissed out from somewhere behind them, "Over here!"

The guards turned but they were too late.

Eriol smiled and raised the rocket launcher in his hands.

"Boom," he said gleefully as he aimed and fired.

The rocket launched itself into the air blazing a trail across the air. It slammed into the balcony and detonated in an awesome explosion of fire and smoke. The guards stationed there were instantly ripped to the shreds by the debris as Eriol chuckled and hurled the now useless rocket launcher to the ground.

"Now…" he raised his gun, "For the rest."

The guards whirled on him but Eriol had already fired taking out four of them in quick succession. They fired back but Eriol leapt to the side, rolling behind a pillar as their bullets missed him.

Calmly reloading his gun even as bullets slammed into the pillar and ground around him. Eriol aimed up at the ceiling and fired.

The bullets slammed into the glass ceiling, which already weakened by the twin explosions at the door and balcony immediately shattered. Huge panes of glass cascaded to the ground in a deadly razor-sharp rain.

Some of the guards were immediately take on as glass bit into their bodies tearing blood arteries as they fell to the floor with a cry, clutching life-leeching wounds.

Luckily for Eriol, the ceiling above him was marble so he was safe from the carnage. The other guards tried to flee from the shower of glass but Eriol was ready for them.

"BANG! BANG!"

Ruthlessly Eriol fired his gun over and over again cutting the guards down. As the last body hit the ground, Eriol stood up from the pillar and coolly walked over to the large set of the doors set in the far wall.

He tried the door handle.

It was locked.

He stood back, aimed and fired. The lock was instantly sundered into useless scraps of metal before Eriol kicked the door open.

"DADDY!" a little girl screamed as the door swung open revealing the carnage outside.

"YOU SON OF A…"

Eriol instantly swerved to the side as his target, a tall dark-haired man swung at him. The man staggered but quickly regained his balance swinging his other arm at him. Without even blinking, Eriol grabbed hold of the man's wrist stopping the blow and wrenched his arm, twisting it behind him and locking it in place. The man cursed and struggled but he was pinned down, helpless against the assassin.

"GUARDS!" the man screamed, "GUARDS!"

A side door was blasted open as more guards poured into the room. The man's little daughter screamed in terror as they began to raise their guns.

"Hope this hurts," Eriol murmured wickedly into man's ears.

The man paled and opened his mouth to scream but Eriol was already in motion. Jamming the gun into his victim's back, Eriol fired over and over again.

Blood exploded out from the wounds as the man's body went instantly limp. The guards cried out as Eriol fired his gun again, the bullets tearing through the man's body and hitting them.

The guards tried to fire back but their guns were too weak, bullets slamming into the man's body but not penetrating through as Eriol's weapon was doing. The assassin aimed and fired again, hitting another guard.

It was over in less than a minute. The last guard crumpled to the ground, blood pouring from the fatal wound in his neck. The girl was drenched in blood now, crying hysterically as Eriol coolly dropped the dead man to the ground.

He surveyed the room and nodded.

"Mission accomplished, "he whispered.

He turned to leave.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

He whirled back ground, the girl was glaring at him, her dark eyes burning from her blood-splattered face.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"

With a scream, she leapt at him but tripped over one of the fallen guards. She collapsed to the ground falling in a spreading puddle of blood, limbs flailing as she tried to level herself up.

Eriol stood and watched her.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!! I'M GOING TO…" the girl screamed as she tried to get up but slipped again in the blood.

Eriol smiled coldly.

"Join the queue sweetie," he smirked.

Leaving the screaming, blood-splattered girl behind Eriol walked out of the mansion to collect his money.

_End of flashback_

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo stared at him in horror.

"Wha… how…"

Eriol looked at her helplessly, trying to say something to justify what he had done but couldn't. He tried anyway.

"The man was one of the biggest drug dealers in Australia… the people who hired me… their son had died from an overdose. He supplied the drugs," Eriol finished awkwardly.

"But all those guards… and his daughter," Tomoyo said faintly.

"I'm guessing Raven was that little girl," Eriol offered needlessly.

Tomoyo took in a deep breath.

"Get out," her voice was as cold as a winter's wind cutting through cloth to chill the flesh beneath.

"Tomoyo…" Eriol began.

"Get out," Tomoyo snarled at him, "JUST GET OUT!!"

"You knew what I was… you knew what I must've done," Eriol challenged, his own temper sparking, "I'm not proud of them but I've changed… for you."

"Intellectually… yeah I knew you must've killed a lot of people but you told me they were mostly criminals and crooks," Tomoyo spat, "I could've handled that but you left a little girl behind… you traumatised her beyond belief… you…"

"How is that better than what you girls do?" Eriol snapped back, "All the criminals you've taken down, you've ruined their families as well!"

Tomoyo glared at him.

"Fuck you!" she screamed, all inhibition gone.

"You swear because you know it's true!" Eriol fired back.

The lavender-eyed Angel was trembling now.

"How dare you compare what I've done to what you've done!" she shouted, "HOW DARE YOU?! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!!"

Wild with rage, she grabbed his hand and dragged him to his feet.

"JUST GO!!" Tomoyo screamed.

Shooting a helpless, wrathful look at her, Eriol stormed out of her house. As the door slammed shut behind him, Tomoyo's rage immediately fainted.

She wilted back down to her couch.

"I've always known the things he's done… the people he's killed but…" Tomoyo looked up to the heavens, begging for an answer, "But I still love him… I… I forgive and forget that he was… is a killer because I love him."

She looked down at her lap as tears spilled down her face.

"What does that make me?"

But there was no easy answer for her.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Uri's eyes flickered open.

"Where the hell am I?" she demanded thickly.

Sakura glanced down at her.

"She's awake!" she called out.

Anthony and Garrett immediately appeared at the doorway.

"What happened down there?" Garrett demanded, "You almost died."

Uri glared at him as her mind tried to dreg up what had happened to deep down in the tomb back in China.

"I was fighting against Tomoyo and then…" Uri trailed off as images began flittering inside her head.

She and Tomoyo fight… then… arrows… then Tomoyo had…

Uri blinked and shook her head confused. There was something she was forgetting… something important but…

Uri scowled.

"I lost," she said shortly, "That's all you need to know."

She looked at her teammates.

"So what's happening now?" she demanded.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"MEILING!"

Meiling turned around and smiled at the familiar face.

"Diana!" she called out cheerfully.

The tall slim lawyer grinned and pushed her way over to her, fighting past the crowds.

"What brings you here?" Diana asked.

"Same thing that brought you here," Meiling grinned.

The two mothers smiled at each other.

"Dolls!" they both said cheerfully.

Standing in the toyshop, Meiling kept an eye on Lily as darted from shelf to shelf picking up a doll before something else caught her attention and she ran over to that only for the cycle to start again.

"Where's Hope and Kevin?" Meiling asked.

Diana shrugged.

"Gone to the park I imagine," Diana smiled at her, "God, I haven't see you for ages! How's everything going? Kevin's told me Eriol hasn't been in for a work for a while now and the boss is starting to get suspicious… apparently the whole 'family problems' lie only goes so far."

"Busy," Meiling answered her first question, her face grim, "Cobra Mark's still giving us hell and we're still fighting back… and a few days ago…"

"Lily's school," Diana nodded, "I know. But I also knew you'd kick some serious ass to get her back so everything worked huh?"

Meiling shuddered remembering the sight of Diego with his gun pointed at her tiny daughter.

"I guess so," she sighed.

Suddenly a bright smile unfurled across her face.

"Actually, I've just had a thought. You can help me!" Meiling said excitedly.

Diana frowned at her.

"With what?"

"Plans," Meiling said vaguely.

Diana was still confused.

"Wedding plans," Meiling clarified.

Diana's eyes widened.

"WHAT?!"

Kids and parents looked at her in astonishment but Diana ignored them.

"You. Marcus. Getting married. Finally." she demanded in staccato fashion.

Meiling nodded smugly.

"About bloody time woman!!" Diana grabbed her around the shoulders and hugged her, "Congratulations!!"

Meiling grinned.

"Me and Marcus want to get married as soon as possible but we still want a decent wedding so that means we need to put our plans in hyperdrive."

Diana winked.

"Then I'm your girl! I've still got all those information about caterers and venues and stuff from me and Kevin's wedding. You'll love our florist!"

Chatting excitedly, the two woman continued to discuss and analysis the impending marriage and wedding plans as Lily continued to run wildly through the toy shop looking for the perfect doll.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kevin glanced at his watch and swore before pushing the door open, his daughter clasped safely against his chest. Hope dozed on peacefully unaware of the frantic office her father had just stepped into.

"Lacuray!" a booming voice rang out.

Kevin's head swivelled towards his boss.

"Office. Now!"

The door slammed shut before Kevin could react. The blonde-haired man sighed in despair adjusting his daughter slightly.

"Lisa!" Kevin called out.

One of his co-workers turned around just as she was about to pour herself a cup of coffee from the communal coffee machine, the most important and revered piece of equipment in the whole office.

"Kevin," Lisa grinned wryly, "The boss wanted to see you?"

Kevin scowled and nodded before pointing to his daughter helplessly.

"Look after her? Please?" he begged.

Lisa's face lit up.

"Course," she walked over to him and Kevin transferred his precious daughter to the short woman.

Lisa smiled down at Hope's peaceful face. By this point, the whole of the office had seen Hope on many occasions and it wasn't a far stretch to say that they all loved the tiny girl.

"Hello baby girl," Lisa cooed, "Let's help Aunt Lisa do some paperwork why don't we?"

Lisa shot Kevin a reassuring smile before walking away to her office. Kevin sighed in relief and dashed into his boss's office.

Pushing the door open, Kevin stepped in apprehensively. His boss, Mr. Livington was staring out the window, his back to him.

"Sit down," Livington commanded.

Kevin slowly took a seat, a frown spreading across his face. Livington swung around to look at him.

"Well, Kevin," he said after a long nerve-jangling pause, "Congratulations."

Kevin stared at him blankly, utterly confused.

Livington smiled.

"The board of directors met today and they've decided… you're our new partner. Congratulations, you've gotten a promotion."

Outside Lisa and all the other lawyers and secretary jumped as a loud excited 'yes' boomed out of Livington's office.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle scowled as she pulled open Xiaolang's pantry.

"Did you buy out a whole liquor store or something?" she demanded.

Xiaolang had the grace to look down at his feet and shuffle uncomfortably as Michelle turned back to the cupboard.

"Vodka, rum, whiskey, scotch, wine… red and white, tequila, bourbon," Michelle glanced at the labels, "I've gotta, say I'm impressed."

Without warning, she swept her arm across the shelf pushing every single bottle into the rubbish bin she held in her other.

"Hey!" Xiaolang protested stepping forwards.

"Nope, this ends now," Michelle said firmly, "No more boozing. You're are officially on detox right now."

Xiaolang grumbled a little but didn't stop her as she went over to his fridge and uncovered more alcohol. Shaking her head, Michelle threw every drop of alcohol out.

"Why are you doing this? Now I mean?" Xiaolang asked.

"Because you need help," Michelle said firmly.

"No really… why now?"

Michelle was silent as she tied a knot in the garbage bag.

"I went home a while back," she said finally.

"Home?" Xiaolang blinked.

"Hope Falls," Michelle clarified.

Xiaolang nodded instantly understanding.

"And it brought back a lot of memories. Some good… mostly bad but the one thing that stuck was my mother," Michelle took a deep breath, "When she lost my father… she lost it. Like you."

Michelle ran a shaking hand through her long blonde hair.

"She get stone drunk every night and hooked up with everyone with a Y chromosome around town," Michelle's mouth twisted bitterly, "Then she went and got herself killed by drinking too much."

Michelle looked at Xiaolang, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears but her face was composed and determined.

"As much I thought I hated her I still couldn't bear it," Michelle confessed quietly, "She wasted her life because she couldn't deal or didn't want to deal with the pain. That's why I'm helping you because I've seen what this path you're on leads to and it's not pretty. Don't waste your life like her. I couldn't save my mother so I'm helping you."

She looked away, slightly embarrassed by just how much of herself she had revealed but Xiaolang touched her arm gently drawing her attention back to him.

"Thank you," he said humbly, "For helping me."

Michelle smiled as the two of them shared a long comfortable moment, understanding and compassion drawing them closer together.

"You're welcome," she replied softly.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Kevin pulled the door open, a bounce in his steps as his wide grin proclaimed to the world the happiness he felt in his heart. Closing the door behind him, he instantly pulled out his phone and punched in the all-too familiar number.

_'Kevin?' _Diana's voice came through the phone.

"Guess what?" Kevin said happily.

Diana sighed in exasperation.

'Just tell me already. I'm busy and I don't have time to…'

"They made me partner."

_'What?!' _Diana squawked.

"They made me partner," Kevin repeated, his grin widening.

Somehow saying the words made it seem much more real.

_'THAT'S FANTASTIC!!' _Diana screamed, _'OH MY GOD!! I'm so proud of you!!'_

Kevin grinned and continued talking to his wife for a few more minutes before promising to come home soon to celebrate.

"I love you," he said sweetly.

_'Get your butt home now,' _Diana said with mock-sternness, _'And I love you too, you big lug.'_

Kevin flipped his phone shut and went to Lisa's office to pick up Hope but something else quickly grabbed his attention.

"Eriol?" Kevin asked blinking in confusion.

The man looked terrible, his eyes bleary, his clothes dishevelled. Eriol managed to faint ghostly grin.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Kevin asked concerned.

"Making sure I still have a job," Eriol said wryly.

His smiling face slipped revealing the tension and raw pain beneath. Kevin was startled to see how miserable he was. However Eriol quickly covered it up, pasting a smiling mien back on his face.

"Ummm… are you okay?" Kevin asked doggedly.

Eriol gave a short shrug and began to walk to Livington's office as Kevin blinked wondering if he should stop him.

"Mr. Pink?" a young female voice called out.

Eriol and Kevin turned to face the newcomer. Eriol's eyes immediately widened in horror.

"GET DOWN!!" he screamed.

Raven smirked and raised her gun.

"NOW!!" Eriol yelled out.

Their co-workers screamed at the sight of the young girl with the big gun and immediately hit the deck cowering behind desks and table trying to use the meagre protection they offered but Kevin was glued to the spot, his eyes focused disbelieving on the metal gun.

"GET DOWN!!" Eriol was running towards him but it seemed to be in slow motion, his limbs pushing through the air as though it it had turned to jelly.

Kevin saw the triumphant look on Raven's face as she aimed and Eriol and began firing.

"BANG!"

The explosion of the bullet out of the gun rocked his world but didn't little to break him of the paralysing numbness he felt. The first bullet whizzed past Eriol just missing him but Raven was already firing her second.

"BANG!"

Pain.

Agony.

Torture.

Slowly Kevin looked down at his shirt.

Blood… there was so much blood…

Eriol opened his mouth in an anguished scream but Kevin was beyond hearing it. He slowly crumpled to the ground, the whiteness of his shirt overwhelmed by the spreading darkness of his lifeblood.

He hit the ground, the world spinning crazily around him. He looked up into his killer's shocked eyes. He turned and saw Eriol shouting at him, shaking him trying to pull him back from the brink.

His eyes drifted to his left. Lisa was standing there, her mouth opened wide in horror, Hope awake in her arms.

His tiny, precious, loving, angelic daughter was reaching out for him, her chubby little arms trying to reach her dying father.

It was so unfair… he wanted to be there for her. Wanted to watch her grow up, to watch her bloom from infancy to childhood, mature from childhood to womanhood, to protect her from the boys that was inevitably come knocking, give her away to a man worthy of her, stand there beaming in pride as they pledged themselves to one another…

But it was never to be.

Death didn't care for justice or fairness.

Kevin took one last shuddering bleeding gasping breath and stared at his daughter, wondering what type of woman she would grow into.

Beautiful?

Cruel?

Loving?

Hurtful?

Would she change the world?

He would never find out.

The world dimmed as he tried to move his mouth, try to say one last word.

"Hope…"

Everything became darkness and oblivion. His body shuddered and finally stilled as his daughter began crying.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol looked down at Kevin Lacuray's body in horror.

"Kevin…" he shook him but feeling the coolness of his skin knew it was far too late.

His hands were drenched in Kevin's blood. His body rebelled and shuddered, nausea flowing into his senses. He wanted to vomit.

It was ironic.

He, Eriol Hiragizawa, who had killed more than his share of people, who had never felt anything for the horrors he had inflicted would feel anything over this pointless death.

But Kevin was… had been his friend and that made all the difference in the world. His dark blue eyes flicked over to the still stunned Raven, the smoking gun… the murder weapon still clutched in her hands.

"I'm sorry…" she whimpered helplessly, "I didn't… I didn't know…"

"You bitch," Eriol snarled, "YOU BITCH!!"

Bare handed and splattered with blood, Eriol leapt at her tackling her to the ground. His hand shot out almost of its own accord to land a vicious punch to her face. Raven was screaming and crying, trying to fend him off, the gun sailing out of her hands and into a nearby pot plant.

A lucky blow from Raven knocked Eriol away. The young girl instantly leapt to her feet and stared helplessly all around her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Before anyone could stop her, she whirled around and raced out of the door.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling examined the brochures carefully.

"This park looks nice," she said as Diana chuckled.

"Yeah, me and Kevin were thinking of holding our wedding there but we decided we wanted things a little more traditional," Diana explained, "The park's perfect for a spring or summer wedding though."

Meiling nodded and moved it to the 'perhaps' pile before picking up another pamphlet. Suddenly the phone rang. Frowning, Diana walked over to it and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked.

Meiling listened with half an ear as she considered the next choice of venue: a seaside resort.

"A beach wedding? A little too cliché perhaps?" she mused.

Suddenly Diana screamed. Meiling instantly leapt up from her chair as Lily, sitting on the floor beside her looked in surprise, her new doll in hands.

"Diana?" Meiling asked unsurely.

Diana was clutching the phone with all her might, her knuckles going white as tears poured down her face. She continued to scream and wail, each heart-wrenching sound tearing into Meiling's ears and soul.

"Diana?" Meiling felt a sick feeling come over her.

"No. No. No. No. No. No. No," Diana was whimpering, "No… please… no…"

With a scream, she hurled the phone away. It shattered against the far wall as Diana seem to collapse in on herself falling to the ground.

She lay there on the polished wood, sprawled across it like a helpless creature caught in a hunter's trap, agony and pain ripping through her slight body.

"Diana?" Meiling knelt down and touched her gently, "What is it?"

Diana looked at her, a shell-shocked look on her face like she had seen horrors she could never truly express.

"Kevin… it's Kevin."

Meiling knew. She didn't want to know but she knew.

"Oh god…"

There was nothing she could do or say but watch on helplessly as Diana screamed out all her pain and horror into the uncaring callous world.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"I want the bitch's head on a pike," Meiling said bluntly.

It had been three days. Three horrible, dark, never-endings days since it happened. Tomorrow they were going to put Kevin's body in the ground.

"Syaoran?" Meiling said sharply.

The speaker box immediately responded.

"I have all my contacts looking for her," he promised.

"Good," Meiling turned to her fellow Angels who all looked as haggard as she felt, "Any ideas on how to find her?"

Tomoyo took a long deep shuddering breath.

"I do."

She slowly stood up

"You know about the connection between Eriol and this Raven right?"

Meiling and Michelle looked at each other, Eriol had told them about why the girl had attacked the office but they didn't want to dwell on it too much. It was all too confusing… Eriol had, however indirectly, caused Kevin's death but he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger and it was all too…

"Yeah," Michelle said faintly.

"We talked and Eriol has decided to put out a message that he wants to face her one on one somewhere. This should draw her out and then we'll see what happens from there," Tomoyo glanced at the speaker box.

"I can do it at once," Syaoran said calmly.

"Good," Tomoyo's face was a grim mask of determination, "Then do it."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura calmly strode through the dark night, pushing past the dense tress before coming to a clearing.

"Why did you call us?" she demanded without preamble, "I thought the deal was clear. We give you the information, you do your job, we never contact each other ever again."

Raven was pacing the park clearing restlessly, her dark eyes feverish. Sakura cocked her head to the side studying the obviously agitated girl, her clothing and hair was a mess.

"I killed someone," Raven suddenly wailed.

Sakura blinked, a horrible icy feeling suddenly blooming in her chest.

"Who?" she demanded her voice lashing out a like a whip, demanding the truth.

"A man… at the place were Eriol works… his name was… Kevin…" Raven stuttered.

Sakura's face became a frozen mask. Only an expert much-utilised ability to lie and hide her true feelings manage to stop her from crying out.

"So?' she said coolly, "It has nothing to deal with our deal."  
"I only wanted to kill him. Only Eriol… but I killed someone," Raven was looking down at her hands in horror, "I'm a murderer."

"Yes, you are," Sakura said brutally.

Although she was trying to hide her tears and anguish, she wanted to scream, want to rend and punch and hurt this pathetic little girl. She wanted her to feel a fraction of the pain she was feeling, she knew Diana and her friends were feeling.

"I didn't… I don't want to be," Raven's eyes were begging her for something… but what?

"Enough," Sakura cut her off, "This has nothing to do with our deal. Deal with it, I could care less."

"But… but… but," Raven was weeping openly now, "I don't know what to do. I keep picturing it… I killed a man! I killed him!"

Sakura's face was ruthless and uncaring.

"Tell it to someone who cares."

Without another glance back at her, Sakura turned around and crashed blindly through the trees, her heart open and raw screaming in pain. Her gut wrenched horribly and Sakura crashed to the ground beating the ground helplessly with her fists until they were bloody.

She cried, her tears falling to the leaf litter underfoot. Great shuddering breaths wracked her body.

She cried and cried, hoping wishing her tears could wash away her guilt.

"I killed him," she whimpered helplessly hugging herself tightly, rocking herself, "I killed him."

She wept and wept as the moon watched dispassionately overhead.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Raven stumbled in the bar, her face wet with tears. She crashed into a stool and managed to flop her body onto it.

"Your strongest alcohol…"

"I need to see some I.D.," the gruff bartender began.

Raven glared at him, slamming her fists down onto the ground.

"NOW!" she commanded, her voice ringing through the bleak bar.

Some people looked up her with curiosity but alcohol dulled their senses and thoughts. Quickly they turned back to their drinks, wishing like Raven for sweet oblivion

The bartender shrugged and handed her a bottle and a shot glass. Raven poured herself a shot of the clear liquid and tossed it down. Fire punched her in the gut but it managed to stop her trembling.

"Raven?"

The girl whirled around, dark eyes anguished. It was a scrawny weaselly man, one of the contacts Cobra Mark had hooked her up with in L.A..

"I have news of Eriol," the man said hurriedly, "He has issued a challenge to you. Tomorrow in a nearby sports stadium. A fight to the death."

Raven nodded as the man gave her the address.

"Thank you," she mumbled as the man melted away back into the darkness.

She took another shot.

"So he wants a fight," she mumbled, her mind cloudy with alcohol.

A flash of the horrible scene at the office, Kevin's horrified eyes looking at her. She shuddered and pushed it away.

"It wasn't my fault," she whispered, "He was stupid. He got in the way."

She took another shot.

"If I kill Eriol… his death won't be meaningless," she murmured, "His death would've been a worthy sacrifice… yeah, a sacrifice… in order to rid the world of a great evil…"

Raven nodded decisively.

"If I kill Eriol… it would be alright," she said feverishly, "His death won't be for nothing. It would be for a great cause… I would be…"

Finally the alcohol took full control of her senses and she slumped on the bar, out cold.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol opened the door to his apartment. Tomoyo brushed past him without a word.

"So," she said.

Eriol closed the door and turned to face her.

"So," he replied evenly.

The silence dragged on between them.

"I don't know what to say," Tomoyo said slowly, "I mean… you tell me about the things you've done… things I should already be well aware of but yet it doesn't seem real until you tell me… until I get my face slammed into the evidence… like this Raven girl."

Eriol opened his mouth to speak but Tomoyo barged on wildly.

"And then… then… she kills Kevin… which is kinda your fault because if you hadn't killed her dad then she would've but…" Tomoyo let out a long painful breath, "I don't now what to feel. I don't know what to think."

"I've already apologised long ago for the things I've done," Eriol said calmly, "When we… got back together. I asked if you can truly forget the things I've done, if you could forgive me for the people I killed. Remember what you said?"

Tomoyo nodded slowly.

"As long as you're with me… yes," Tomoyo whispered.

Eriol nodded.

"And ever since that day… I've changed… for you," Eriol said gruffly, "I don't kill unless I have to… unless they're trying to kill me. I've tried to become a better man because of you… for you."

"I know! I know!" Tomoyo cried, "I know all that!! But how I am supposed to feel when your past gets one of our friends killed? What am I meant to do? Am I meant to hate you… because I can't! Lord knows I've tried in the past, but I can't!"

Eriol's face was sad but understanding.

"We love each other. Truly, madly, forever," he said simply, "But if you can't accept the person I was and can't accept I'm not that person anymore than fine. We'll never see each other again."

"What is it? An ultimatum?" Tomoyo demanded, "If I don't forgive you, you'll leave?"

"No, it's not an ultimatum," Eriol corrected, "Because I can't live seeing you everyday and see disappointment or hatred in your eyes. I can't. So if you truly decide you can't forget or at least put it aside…"

His chin jutted out stubbornly.

"I'll go."

Tomoyo stared at him helplessly not knowing what to do.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Diana sat by the window, her face pale, eyes unseeing. She was like a zombie, existing in this world yet not living in it.

"It hurts," she said finally, "It hurts to breathe… to live… it hurts so much that I can't bear to live."

"I know," Xiaolang said quietly.

"Is this what you felt?" Diana demanded, a spark of her old fire coming back, "When Sakura died is this what you felt?"

Xiaolang nodded wordlessly.

"How do you live on from this?" Diana demanded.

"It's not easy," Xiaolang confessed, "And I'm not a fully right myself either. It takes time and even then sometimes the wound is still as bad as when you heard the news. It's never going to go away fully but the one thing you cling onto… the one thing you have to cling onto…"

He stared down at Hope's crib where the little girl laid, sleeping, oblivious to the cruel world around her.

He felt a stab of grief for her, knowing that one day she would be aware enough to know that she was missing something important in her life.

"… is that they would've wanted you to keep living. To keep going even when they're not there. To make them proud," Xiaolang's face was a hoarse rasp by now, "To do all the things they never got to… because you owe it to them. You owe it to them to fulfil the promises they never could."

He smiled bitterly.

"And yeah… sometimes you're bound to fall off the path. You end up doing stupid things you wished you never did."

"Drinking and whoring?" Diana said with a faint smile that quickly faded.

Xiaolang flinched.

"Yeah but to do that is just being selfish. Losing yourself is selfish and stupid and shameful and…" Xiaolang's voice faded away, "Life sucks and it's going to be painful but…"

He looked up towards the ceiling.

"When you finally get up there and meet them you want to be able to look them in the eyes and said you did the best you could," Xiaolang said firmly, "And maybe… maybe that's enough of a reason for us to keep going on. For them."

He blinked.

"I just had an epiphany didn't I?" he asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, you did," Diana turned to her daughter as tears began to roll down her face, "but thanks."

Xiaolang nodded.

"You're welcome."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol stood in the centre of the baseball field, the wind whipping through his hair and clothing. He knew that somewhere up above, nestled in the empty stadium, the three Angels and Xiaolang were crouching amongst the seats, their tranquilliser guns aimed down at him ready to take out Raven as soon as she appeared.

"Nice evening isn't it?"

"Raven," Eriol turned and the girl was standing before him, her face grim and gaunt.

Eriol took a step forwards but the girl shook her head, pulling her jacket open. Eriol stopped and stared at the explosives she had strapped to himself. He felt sick, that many explosives… it was enough to destroy the whole stadium.

"I want you to know we started you're not leaving this place alive," Raven said calmly, "The device is hooked up to a monitor over my heart. If you kill me and my hearts stops or if you knock me out and my heart slows, the bomb goes off. If I can't kill you, I will kill myself and end this."

Eriol gaped at her, knowing her voice had carried up to the stadium so that his friends could hear it too.

"Why?" he demanded.

"Because I have to make things right," Raven said with eerie surety, "That poor man I killed must be avenged. His death must have meaning and if I kill you…"

She raised her gun, her eyes bleak.

"It would've been a worthy sacrifice."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Crap," Michelle whispered hearing Raven's words.

She activated her comm-link to the others.

"The girl's gone nuts," she whispered, "The tranq guns are useless. If we hit her and she gets knocked out the bomb's going to blow us sky high."

_'I know,' _Tomoyo replied tersely.

_'Any ideas?' _Meiling's voice came through.

_'Let's get down there,' _Xiaolang commanded, _'We're useless up here.'_

"Umm… can you… you know hit her with a spell or something?" Michelle questioned unsurely.

_'No,' _Xiaolang replied grimly, _'All paralysing spells would slow her heart down. And I don't want to mess with explosives magically, such volatile forces coming together can easily set the bomb off.'_

_'Damnit!' _Meiling hissed

"Let's get down there now," Michelle ordered, "Let's go!"

She instantly threw down her gun and raced for the nearest stairs.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol raised his gun as well.

"Then let's do this," he said grimly.

Raven nodded.

"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"

With a scream, Raven hurled herself straight at Eriol, firing blindly. Eriol leapt away from her, rolling across the ground before sprinting towards the stadium, zigzagging across the ground as Raven continued to chase after him.

Launching himself down a flight of stairs, Eriol rounded the corner and waited in the corridor leading down the changing rooms and equipment storage areas.

Raven cautiously walked down the stairs, her eyes scanning the corridor. As her eyes darted to the left, looking away from Eriol, the assassin leapt into action.

He launched himself into the air, twisting gracefully as he fired. Raven screamed in pain as a bullet slammed into her shoulder, the gun clattering to the ground. Eriol hit the ground and tried to scramble away in side corridor but Raven was faster pulling out another gun and firing.

"BANG!"

Eriol hissed in pain as the bullet tore into his thigh. Pain ripped up his leg as Eriol pulled himself away.

Gasping, he pulled himself up, hobbling as Raven advanced, one arm hanging uselessly by her side.

"Come out and fight me coward," she growled.

Eriol merely fired at her in response. The bullet hit the ground spraying sharp shards of concrete at her as Eriol raced down the hall as fast as he could.

He threw himself at a door at the far end of the hall and stumbled through it into a changing room. Throwing the door shut, Eriol hobbled over to a row of lockers and waited.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Raven fired wildly into the door, the bullets punching the door to shrapnel as they hit the lockers sending tiny pieces of fragmented metal everywhere. Eriol, who was well out of the line of fire, winced and waited.

Finally the firing stopped. Smoke filled the changing room. The door shattered under a powerful kick as Raven stormed into the room, gun at the ready.

Eriol threw himself behind the locker Raven had just been firing into and with his good leg, gave it a powerful stout kick.

Raven cried out as the tall bank of lockers instantly tipped forwards. She threw herself away, crashing clumsily up against the wall as the locker hit the ground with a resounding crash. Eriol was already in motion, lunging at Raven but his injured leg slowed him down enough for Raven to move out of the way.

She pistol-whipped him in the face stunning him before throwing herself at him, knocking him across the room.

Eriol stumbled across a low bench and fell backwards with a cry, hitting the ground with brutal force the gun sailing out of his hand as Raven descended on him, gun ready to fire.

Eriol's hands scrambled for his gun, which had fallen beneath a bench but his questing fingers find something else. Instantly he hurled it straight at Raven.

The small metal dumbbell cracked across her face drawing blood as Raven fell backwards, completely disorientated. Eriol crawled to his feet and hobbled away from, scooping up his gun as he went and went through the nearest doorway.

He stopped and swore, finding himself in the showers. The tiled floor gleamed under the light above as a row of taps set at regular intervals lined the walls.

"Bastard!" Raven was at the doorway, her mouth bloodied, her face pouring with blood.

She raised her gun and fired as Eriol threw himself to the side. The bullets crashed in the wall, cracking tiles and tearing into the plumbing beneath. Water instantly burst out of the broken pipes in a gushing cascade, the floor instantly became slippery and treacherous underfoot as more and more water gushed out.

Raven swore, took a step forward and instantly slipped. Her gun fell out of her hands and Eriol was there kicking it to the far wall as he raised his gun. Raven's good arm shot out knocking it back and away from him before she threw herself at him, slamming him to the ground.

It instantly became a wrestling match.

"You can't overpower me!" Eriol spat slamming her head into the ground.

Raven screamed and punched him away, throwing herself on top of him. Her hands went around his neck and she began choking him as Eriol flailed.

His hands fell on top of a broken piece of tap, blown off from the wall by Raven's bullets. He instantly grabbed onto it and slashed upwards. Raven screamed as the metal's jagged edge opened up her cheeks. She fell away, hitting the ground as blood oozed out turning the water around them pink.

Eriol slowly crawled to his feet.

"ERIOL! GET OUT OF THERE!" Tomoyo screamed.

He turned confused and Tomoyo's hand grabbed onto his wrist pulling him away form the showers as Raven slowly began to climb to her feet, swaying unsteadily.

"Go stand somewhere dry," Tomoyo commanded, "Make sure you don't make a trail of water behind you."

Confused, Eriol did what he was told hobbling away from the showers. Xiaolang waved his hands and Eriol instantly felt his clothes dry out, every single drop of water vanishing. Xiaolang did it again, the pool of water surrounding their group vanished.

Raven glared at them.

"I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!" she screamed, almost deranged with hatred, "I HAVE TO MAKE HIS DEATH MEANINGFUL!! IT WAS A SACRIFICE!!"

She knelt down and scooped up the broken tap Eriol had used to attack her. Standing up straight, she pointed the jagged edge at her throat and prepared to stab down.

"NOW!" Tomoyo screamed.

Michelle pointed something at Raven and instantly fired. The taser gun shot out two metal prongs that embedded themselves into Raven's explosive-lined chest.

With Raven standing in a giant pool of water and being completely wet, the effect was devastating. Tangible tendrils of blue electricity coursed through her as the taser delivered an almighty shock.

The tap fell from Raven's convulsing fingers as electricity continued to arc. Finally, she shot forwards, her whole body paralysed as she sailed straight through their group and crashed into a row of lockers.

Her body twitched and went still again. Raven's eyes were closed, her head slumped to the side.

She was out cold.

"Why didn't the bomb go off?"

"We fried its circuitry," Tomoyo explained, "The bomb she described is a new design and it hasn't been designed to withstand electric shocks. It's useless now."

The four of them stood there staring at the young girl as she lay helpless at her feet.

"What do we do now?" Michelle asked.

Eriol smiled sadly.

"Come on," he began to heft Raven up, "Let's get her to a hospital."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Raven's eyes flittered open. A familiar face swam into her line of vision.

"YOU!" Raven cried trying to stand up but pain forced her back down.

"I want you to know I'm sorry beyond belief," Eriol said calmly, "What I did to your dad no matter how evil or manipulative he was was completely wrong… I can't excuse what I did and the reasons why I did them but I want you to know… I'm not that person anymore."

Raven stared at him.

"I know I've ruined your life and for that I'm sorry," Eriol continued, "I was a cold-blooded killer back then and I'm trying as hard as I can now to make up for that."

"I don't believe you," Raven spat.

"Yes, you do," Eriol said wryly, "Because you did the same thing last night."

Raven fell silent.

"You killed a man in cold blood and you tried to make up for it by making excuses. You believed if you killed me, it would've washed his blood away. That you didn't kill him for your own reasons, you were forced to kill him to fight a great evil," Eriol looked into Raven's eyes, "You tried to make yourself the hero and the victim and Kevin was just a sacrifice you had to make."

Raven was silent.

"I didn't know what to do," she confessed quietly, not caring that she was talking to her sworn enemy, all she knew was that this person cared and understood her, "I only wanted to hurt you. To get revenge. I didn't meant to kill him."

"Kevin had a daughter… she isn't even a year old," Eriol said gently.

Raven stared at him in horror, her eyes brimming with tears.

"I don't say it just to hurt you but to make you understand," Eriol explained, "You and I are in the same position. We are connected. Both of us are responsible for robbing a girl of the chance to know her father. But that doesn't mean you're a horrible person who should be killed. It means you are a fool who made a terrible mistake. Death won't change that. You have to balance it out somehow… do enough good in this world to make this terrible act less terrible… to redeem yourself in your eyes and in the world's."

The young girl looked like she was about to vomit.

"I didn't know… I didn't meant for this to happen… when they contacted me… I never thought…"

Eriol blinked.

"They?"

"Cobra Mark," Raven whispered, "I went to their base here in L.A. and they gave me information… they…"

She began crying in earnest, guilt shattering her world. Eriol calmly put his arms around her offering her comfort and understanding.

"Cobra Mark are evil," he said softly, "You were merely a tool for them. A pawn to use. If you really want Kevin's death to be meaningfully, help us fight them. Help us destroy them and protect others."

"And if I tell you… will I be faultless… will the guilt stop?" Raven cried.

Eriol shook his head sadly.

"The guilt never goes away. In your own time you'll figure out how to deal with it but this small step can help to equal the balance out a little."

Eriol stared at her, compassion etched into his face.

"Tell me… where is Cobra Mark?"

Sick with guilt, Raven told him everything she knew.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"When I first met Kevin. I hated him," Diana said simply.

She stood at the front of the church in her widow's black dress, her face still haggard and sorrowful but determined.

"But underneath it all… I always knew that was something but I always found excuses not to explore it," she continued, "Like he was a slob or an idiot or ego-centric…"

Diana trailed off, a small smile on her face.

"Luckily my friends clobbered me over the head and forced me not be afraid of what I felt and I found that all those excuses I made was just that… excuses. Beneath it all, Kevin was a great man with a huge heart. He was loving and caring and wonderful and…" her voice broke, "All those stupid Hallmark clichés I always mocked. He was my best friend and I loved him with every thing I've got…"

Diana began to cry.

"If there's anything I learnt from that it's this… if you love someone, if you think you might love someone… don't be afraid. Don't make excuses and please, don't turn them away. Love is rare and precious and you better grab onto it with both hands and every other limb you've got," Diana looked at each person in the church with her wide blue eyes pleading them to listen to her, "Don't be afraid to love someone. Don't let anything get in the way of that. Because life is way too short…"

She turned to Kevin's coffin and began to weep in earnest. She continued to speak, choking on her own tears.

"You might lose that person any day and you better spend every minute you've got making memories with them or all you've got left is regrets," Diana took a deep shuddering breath and composed herself, "Kevin. I don't know if you can hear me wherever you are. I don't know what's to come now. I don't know how life will turn out but I can promise you this…"

She flashed a brief quick smile, a ghost of the smile she had always worn.

"I won't let Hope date til she's thirty… at least. Scout's honour."

A low wave of chuckles filled the hall as Diana turned away from the stand and stumbled to her chair. Xiaolang and Meiling there to help her seat. As Diana clung to her friends and family, sobbing out her heart. Tomoyo sat in her chair like a statute, her friend's words resonating in her heart.

"Don't let go," she murmured, her eyes flicking to Eriol across the church, "Don't let go."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Eriol opened his door.

"You knocked?" he asked.

Tomoyo was pale and trembling. Eriol stared at her in concern and opened his mouth to talk but Tomoyo was there, clinging to him, crushing her lips to his.

In one blissful second, worries about the present, about the future, about tomorrow all faded as they kissed. Tomoyo pulled herself away.

"Diana's right," she said hoarsely, "We could be dead tomorrow… which judging by what we're going to do is very likely. My life sucked when you weren't there. I can't go back to that… I can't live with regret. I love you. I don't know why but I friggin' love you with my bloody heart so I'll try and forget. I won't judge. I'll just stay here and bug you and love you like I've done before."

Eriol smiled, a grin full of hope and love.

"I have changed you know," he said earnestly, "I try each and every day to redeem myself. To be worthy of you… I try and I try and sometimes I fail but I keep trying because I need you. I need you to here for me. I don't know what to do without you."

They stared at each other, their bodies trembling.

"We have a war to fight tomorrow," Tomoyo said finally, "And it's going to be one hell of a battle but tonight… just for tonight… please… hold me… make me forget."

Eriol's arms were around her, his lips against hers as they clung to one another, hands gripping each others clothes and pulling themselves closer and closer together trying to meld together.

Tonight wasn't going to be enough.

Eternity wasn't going to be enough.

The future was uncertain and dark and fearful but tonight… they had each other.

And that was enough.

For now.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Next chapter:

The Angels have suffered through defeat after defeat at the hands of the Venom Squad and Cobra Mark but now with tension and tempers running high it's time to get back to what they do next: kicking ass and taking names. A fight back is on as the Angels and their allies storm the Venom Squad warehouse in an all out fight to the bitter end. Find out who lives and who dies in the war to come in… _Boiling point_

Author's Notes:

Okay, so I've been digging through some old reviews and I've found some readers haven't liked that way I've taken this story i.e. making Sakura evil, not giving the Angels back their magic yet. I'm really sorry if you don't like it but I feel that this is the right way to continue the story, the original fic was all about the girls fighting the good fight and the fight was clear cut them vs. the bad guys.

Now I feel that this story is a bit darker and deals with death and the darker moral issues. I mean these Angels are fighting against some of the most twisted villains out there and it is inevitable that people will die (as you can see from this chapter) and like as the cliché says nothing is black and white. Sakura has a reason why she's doing what she's doing but it doesn't mean that it's the absolute right answer.

Anywho, for the people who seriously dislike what I've done, I apologise but I'm not going to change the story. For the people who are enjoying this fic and are intrigued by what's happening, stick around cause things are only just staring to come together…


	18. Boiling point

SHAMELESS PLUG!! If you like C.S. Lewis and Narnia fanfic please check out my new fic over there entitled 'Across the Worlds'. Please read and review this and that fic!! SHAMELESS PLUG OVER!

**Forever Syaoran's Angels 2: Angels Forever**

**Chapter 17: Boiling point**

"Why?"

Sakura turned and stared into a nightmare.

"Why?"

"Please… no… no… no…" she begged.

"Why?"

More and more figures emerged from the darkness. Faces of people she had almost forgotten, people she had been unable to save as an Angel, people she had helped kill as part of the Venom Squad.

But it was the figure at the front of this crowd that struck fear deep into her heart. Kevin Lacuray stared at her, his eyes wide and sightless, his mouth opened in an eternal question.

"Why?"

"I had to," Sakura wailed, "I had to! Please! I tried… I had to… please…"

Jonathan Blackly pointed at her accusingly, blood dripping from the wound in his gut.

"Why?"

Chelsea was there, her face horribly distorted by death.

"Why?"

They came in a crushing wave of death and fury. Eyes and fingers accusing her at every turn.

"Why?"

"Please…" Sakura fell to the ground, her face full of anguish, "I had to… I had to…"

A cold hand forced her face up.

It was Kevin.

He stared down at her and to her horror he began to rot. His skin dissolved into nothingness as his flesh began to blacken and turn putrid, his eyeballs popped raining ichor down on her as Sakura screamed and flailed trying to get away from this nightmare but she was pinned down by an invisible force.

"It's all your fault," Kevin rasped out, "It's all your faul…"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura shot up, heart pounding, cold sweat pouring down her face. She looked around wildly, trying to orientate herself.

Seeing the familiarity of the room, she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh god," she flopped back down on the bed, "It was a dream."

She felt tears began to emerge as the faces from her dream flickered in her head.

Chelsea…

Jonathan…

Kevin…

"Is this all worth it? All this pain and misery? Am I doing the right thing?" Sakura whispered staring up at the ceiling, "I blame you! You told me to do all this. To do what was necessary and look how things have turned out!"

She was really angry now.

"I'm sick and tired of this! I don't know what to do anymore!!" she screamed, "Please?! Am I doing the right thing!!"

Just as she finished, the rage left her leaving her broken and disillusioned. She had to continue. There was no option left. She had gone too far, done too much to back out now. She had to stick it out to the bitter end.

"Stupid destiny," she scowled.

"BOOM!"

The whole house shook as Sakura jumped up, scared.  
"BOOM!"

The house shook again. The door burst open and Anthony poked his head in, his face alit with excitement.

"It's the Angels!" he laughed, "They've come to attack us! Get dressed, we've got a battle to fight!"

Slamming the door shut, Anthony ran off as Sakura leapt out of the bed instantly searching for her clothes. She quickly dressed as the house shook over and over again. Putting her yellow veil in place, Sakura took a deep breath and prepared herself for the heart-wrenching pain she felt every time she faced her former friends.

Squaring her shoulders, Sakura walked through her door and got ready to do war against her friends.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Xiaolang waved his hands again and a jet of green light slammed into the dome of crackling purple energy surrounding the house causing it to shake.

"Hmm… still no effect?" he murmured, "Well, let's try this…"

He raised his sword and murmured a quick incantation. A wave of blue light jetted up the length of the blade, wreathing it in shimmering light. Taking a deep breath, he swung the sword at the dome.

There was a loud pop and a burst of light. The blue light on his sword and purple dome both winked out of existence as Xiaolang grinned.

"Ready?" he turned to his allies.

The Angels nodded grimly, each of them adjusting their weapons. Meiling cracked her knuckles, a grin on her face as she got ready to exact her revenge on the Venom Squad.

Michelle tossed her long metal quarterstaff from hand to hand, her eyes fierce and determined. Beside her, Tomoyo pulled her sai daggers out of their sheaths and pointed them at the dilapidated house. The ramshackle building was set in an industrial wasteland, a patch of dry grass masquerading as a front yard out front as all around broken chunks of concrete and abandoned rusting machinery littered the grey unchanging landscape.

"Let's do this," she said decisively.

Xiaolang turned to their guests.

"Are you ready to begin?" he asked.

Nivaline Sarah Thomas smiled calmly.

"You're lucky you managed to contacts us in time," she said lightly, "And that we managed to teleport here in time."

Xiaolang raised an eyebrow.

"We're ready," Nivaline turned to the group of Shaolin monks standing behind her in neat disciplined rows, "Heng? Let's begin."

The whip-lean man nodded and turned to his fellow monks. The Angels and Xiaolang watched on as they stood in a wide circle, chanting under their breaths as they pointed their fingers towards the earth. The chanting got louder and louder as light began to form around their hands.

Nivaline's magic flared in a flash of emerald green as other sparks of magic leapt from the other monks. The magic began to pool in the centre of the circle, swirling round and round in a whirlwind of colour as Nivaline raised her hand to the heavens.

"We call upon the gods and spirits above to bless this earth!" she called out in a loud commanding voice, "Give it life and let it walk like the beasts who dwell upon it. As rain gives life to the forests so do we give life to this earth!"

The glowing magical light in the centre of the circle flared and turned into a ball of crackling energy as Nivaline pointed to the earth once more.

"Let the power flow from the circle and enter the earth. Awaken and walk! Benevolent gods hear our plea! So mote it be!"

Energy snaked out from the giant sizzling orb and slammed down in the earth. It crackled through the ground jetting off and growing like giant neon roots. The earth began to tremble as Nivaline smiled, sweat rolling down her face.

"WALK!!" she screamed.

The crackling energy roared and the earth began to move.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Holy…" Uri whistled.

The Venom Squad and Garrett crouched by the window watching the monks outside perform their magic. Anthony swore as their spell was completed.

"What's happening?" he demanded.

Garrett was silent, his dark eyes watching the monks carefully.

"There!" Sakura pointed the ground.

The earth was rumbling again as soil and rocks shifted. The Venom Squad gasped in shock as the spell took affect.

Giant earthen figures emerged from the ground, soil and rock compacting to form limbs and torso. Misshapen heads began to form as the dirt and loam creatures began to amble forwards sucking up grass and chunks of pavement to form their bulky bodies.

Soon a variable army of rocky creatures stood in front of the house, awaiting their commands.

"Golems," Garrett spat.

"How do we kill them?" Anthony demanded.

Verona was standing silently beside them, emotionless and silent as usual.

"Leave that to me," Garret smirked.

He waved his hands, dark oily light gathering in his palms. With a yell, he thrust his arms forwards, the window shattering as the darkness jetted outside onto the lawn ahead.

The light hit the ground and pooled like dark ink as Garrett yelled out a strange barking word before clapping his hands together.

The darkness immediately leapt up into the sky and began separating into individual blobs that stretched and mutated.

Garrett smiled as the darkness began to form claws and fangs and tails.

"Darklings," he grinned as the huge reptilian shadowy monsters stood to guard the house.

"Now," Garrett turned to the Venom Squad, "This should be fun."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Darklings," Nivaline confirmed as the Angels and Xiaolang stared at the black monsters Garrett had summoned, "Killing creatures summoned by dark magic."

"Well," Xiaolang squared his shoulders, "I think there's only one thing we can say to that…"

He raised his sword and pointed it at the house and at Garrett and the Venom Squad.

"CHARGE!!"

With a dull roar, the golems lurched forwards. The Darklings immediately lunged forwards, talons slashing. The two sides crashed into one another with deadly brutal force.

One golem was immediately crushed to dust as two Darklings leapt at it, biting down onto its head. Nearby another Darkling died as one of the golems broke its neck.

The chaos raged as the dirt and shadow monsters fought and fought.

"Let's go!" Meiling shouted plunging into melee.

Nivaline and monks pulled out weapons as they too joined the fight.

Tomoyo darted to the side dodging a Darkling's claws before stabbing her daggers into its knees disabling its legs. Its roar turned into helpless whimpers as it crumpled to the ground. Mercilessly Tomoyo swiped her daggers across its throat killing it instantly.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle twisted her quarterstaff's handgrip.

"SHINK! SHINK!"

Two long blades shot out from both ends turning the staff into a deadly double-tipped spear as she stabbed outwards impaling a Darkling on the end of it.

The reptilian monster screamed and slashed at Michelle with its talons but Michelle ducked away from the blow before ripping the spear out of its side almost slicing it in two. A quick stab to the face finished it off as Michelle leapt forwards with a cry.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling charged forwards leaping onto a golem's back using it as a springboard before throwing herself at one of Darkling's. She slammed it into the ground and wrestled it down, wrapping her arm around its neck as it wailed and struggled.

"CRACK!"

Ruthlessly, Meiling snapped its neck. The creature instantly went still as Meiling reached for its taloned hands. With a cry, she ripped one of the claws free before hurling it forwards like a dagger.

A Darkling fell, the talon impaled in its eye as Meiling grinned. She rolled away from a Darkling's thrashing tail before legging sweeping it down to the ground.

"MEILING!"

The Angel turned as Nivaline hurled a sword straight at her. Easily catching the blade, Meiling twirled it in her hands before stabbing the Darkling in the gut. Ripping the sword free from the dying monster, Meiling whirled around to meet her next victim.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett cursed as Xiaolang raised his hands and blasted two Darkling backwards with a single spell.

"GET OUT THERE!" he screamed at the Venom Squad, "KILL THEM!!"

Waving his hands, he sent out a blast of dark energy that instantly disintegrated a row of golems. But the spell seemed to take a lot out of him as Garrett stumbled forwards slightly, his face ashen.

Clutching his chest, he turned to the Venom Squad.

"GO!!" he screamed.

Anthony, Verona, Sakura and Uri surged outside as Garrett collapsed against the wall, gasping for breath.

"Bloody spell took too much…" he coughed.

A golem charged at him but Garrett easily blasted it to dust with a spell but the effort sort him into a frenzied coughing fit.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Cackling Uri slashed forwards tearing chunks out of the golem before landing a powerful kick that sent it stumbling backwards. Leaping over its head, she flipped and landed behind it stabbing her daggers into its neck before ripping them decapitating the golem. It instantly turned to dust as Uri whirled around and attacked another golem.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Armed with a sword, Anthony hacked off a golem's arm before cutting it in half. Pushing through the disintegrating monster, Anthony found himself face-to-face with a monk. The Asian man instantly lashed forwards smacking Anthony in the face. The Cobra Mark cell leader stumbled backwards with a curse before righting himself. The monk fell on him slashing with his own sword as Anthony blocked the blows.

Twisting their swords together, Anthony managed to trap the monk's blade before stepping forwards and punching the man in the face. The monk fell backwards losing the grip on his sword as with a roar, Anthony darted forwards and stabbed at him viciously.

The monk cried out as the blade sank deep in his cut.

"Sorry," Anthony sneered, "I like my skewers without soy sauce."

Kicking the man out of his blade, Anthony faced off against another golem.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Verona was punching a golem in the face fighting it barehanded and winning. Fragments of rock fell out of the golem's face as Verona continued to pound at it. With a final crunching blow, she managed to knock its head straight off before kicking it blowing it to dust. Grabbing a nearby Darkling, the towering Russian woman snapped its arm as the creature screamed in pain. Wrenching the broken limb away from the demon, Verona swung the taloned hands around slicing deep into another golem's face.

Powering forwards, Verona attacked dealing out death wherever she went.

Battleaxe in hand, Sakura jumped over a dying Darkling before swinging her weapon around neatly decapitating a golem. It exploded in a shower of dirt as Sakura leapt forward.

"CLANG!"

A monk swung his sword at her but Sakura deflected the blow with her own weapon before gracefully spinning around the man. Her leg shot out and landed a hefty one-two blow to his face before cracking him across the head with the flat of her blade.

The monk crumpled to the ground as Sakura spun around gracefully fighting off an incoming golem. Embedding the axe into its gut, Sakura slashed outwards slicing the golem in half.

She spun around, her battleaxe whistling through the air.

"CLANG!"

A sword shot out blocking her blow.

Sakura blinked.

"Hello Sandra," Xiaolang grinned unpleasantly, "I believe I have a score to settle with you."

Sakura merely bowed, her eyes mocking.

"Then let's get to it," she taunted.

The grin instantly vanished as Xiaolang knocked the axe away and leapt to attack.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Uri grinned.

"Well, here we are again," Uri smirked.

Tomoyo returned her smile, her eyes predatory and calculating. The two women stood across from one another ignoring the chaos all around them as golems, Darklings and monks fought and killed over and over again.

"You know these grudge matches of ours are getting so very tiring," Uri smirked, "I think I need something new… something fresh."

"Oh don't lie. You live for these," Tomoyo shot back raising her dagger.

Uri's eyes flashed and the assassins lunged forwards, her katana-style daggers flashing through the air. Tomoyo blocked both blows before knocking her hands away. Spin kicking the woman to the ground, Tomoyo lunged at her, daggers ready to kill.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling flew backwards as Verona slammed before fists straight into her. The Angel landed with a crunch before slowly climbing to her feet, groaning in pain.

Verona charged straight at her, fists swinging. Meiling danced out of the way barely dodging out of the way.

She kicked Verona in the back causing her to stumble forwards before twirling her sword around in her hands.

"Come on bitch!" Meiling barked out, "This is for Kevin!"

She darted forwards slashing with her hands. Verona's hands shout clapping around the blade and trapping it but Meiling had fought Verona enough times to expect that. The Asian Angel lashed out cracking Verona across her masked force sending the woman stumbling aside. Meiling gritted her teeth in pain as the shock of the blow shot up her arm.

"Okay, time to bring out the big guns," she muttered.

Grabbing her belt, she unhooked the special weapons she had hanging there. Coolly, she slipped the brass knuckles over her fist but they weren't just ordinary brass knuckles. Long two-inch spikes jutted out from the top of each knuckle turning each punch into a deadly four-point stab.

"Let's go," she growled leaping straight at Verona.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A monk went down screaming as a Darkling leapt on him, tearing him to pieces. Nivaline cursed and reduced the Darkling to ashes with a wave of flames. With Heng by her side, the two of them fought their way towards the house.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Tomoyo and Uri lunge at one another sans weapons landing brutal blows on one another. Gritting her teeth, Nivaline forced herself to ignore them as she reached the shattered window where Garrett lay.

The dark mage saw them coming and tried to blast them backwards with a spell but Heng easily deflected it with a shielding spell summoning a glittering silver wall between them.

Nivaline grinned knowing their plan had worked. They had forced his hand with their summoning of the golems, forcing him to use a huge amount of magic to summon an army of his own. Now with his magic flickering, Nivaline felt triumph run through her as she charged forwards.

Garrett lurched to his feet and screamed out a spell. A giant blast of dark water shot out at them but Nivaline tore through it with a wave of fire.

Snarling, Garrett turned tail and dashed into the house as Nivaline and Heng leapt through the broken window and chased after him.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Another monk died as a Darkling punched its taloned fist through his chest. A golem slammed the Darkling away as Michelle darted forwards stabbing the creature in the chest.

Ripping her metal spear free, Michelle had almost no time to react as Anthony fell on her with a cry.

Swinging her staff around, she managed to deflect his blow away before blasting a kick into his chest. Anthony fell backwards as Michelle leapt forwards stabbing forwards with her spear.

Anthony sidestepped the lunge before raking his sword across her arm. Michelle screamed out in pain but held grimly onto her spear. She spun around swinging the staff straight into Anthony's gut.

The man groaned out and keeled over in pain as Michelle charged forwards, kneeing him straight in the face. Anthony fell over backwards as Michelle stabbed down at him.

Anthony rolled away, the long blade slamming down into the ground as Michelle swore and pulled it free.

She was forced to whirl around and fight off an incoming Darkling. Dispatching it with a slash to its throat, Michelle turned back to Anthony but he was gone.

"God damn it!" she snarled, her blue eyes scanning the battlefield for the man.

Finding him nowhere, Michelle shook her head and darted away helping a monk fight off three Darklings at once.

Sakura and Xiaolang duelled furiously, sparks flying from the weapons as metal met metal over and over again.

Sakura hopped over Xiaolang's sword as he swept it at her legs and managed to kick him straight in the face. Xiaolang rolled with the blow ending up on his feet as Sakura swung the battleaxe at him.

Xiaolang easily leapt away from the axe's path but a Darkling wasn't so lucky, the blade slamming into its reptilian face slaying it instantly.

The axe blade wrenched and caught in the creature's face as Sakura tried to free her weapon.

In that split second of struggle, Xiaolang lunged in, swiping the sword at her. Sakura leapt backwards abandoning her weapon as the sword just missed her face.

She let out a gasp of shock as the bottom part of her veil fell away, sliced off neatly as Xiaolang grinned.

"Almost," he smirked before stabbing forwards.

Sakura spun away from the blade and grabbed onto his wrist trapping his arm. Firing a quick punch into his face, Sakura threw him aside before grabbing her axe and finally yanked it free.

Whirling back, she whipped her axe around in a wide arch neatly taking out a golem as Xiaolang ducked the blow. He straightened and shot out a devastating kick, his foot slamming into Sakura's chest.

The dark-haired woman cried out and stumbled backwards as Xiaolang advanced, sword at the ready.

Sakura hit the ground, the air knocked from her lungs. She laid there gasping for breath as Xiaolang towered over her.

"Time to end this," Xiaolang pointed his hand at Sakura, "PARAMENTUM!"

A burst of lighting blue energy shot out at her but Sakura was faster.

"Reverso!" she screamed.

A wave of golden light shot out of her hand and slammed into Xiaolang's spell. The man was forced to leap away as his own attack flew back at him burning a chunk of his hair as it sailed past.

Xiaolang gaped at her.

"You know magic," he whispered.

"What? Surprised?" Sakura smirked, "A girl's gotta learn a few tricks to survive in this crazy world."

Xiaolang pointed his sword at her.

"LIGHTNING!" he commanded in a thundering voice.

Streams of pure electricity whipped across the air at Sakura as the former Angel gritted her teeth.

"DEFLECT!" she screamed shoving her hands forwards.

A wall of golden light slammed into place as Sakura tried to fend off the lighting bolts that threatened to sear her flesh to the bone.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Uri backed away, gasping for breath. Her tongue probed inside her mouth as she suddenly swore and spat out a bloody knocked-out tooth.

"Awww… now you don't have that beautiful smile of yours," Tomoyo taunted as she raised her fists.

Their daggers had long been lost in the fight, both of them reduced to a scrappy brawl fest where everything went.

"Bitch," Uri kicked out, her foot smacking into a pile of dirt that had formerly been a golem.

Tomoyo cried out as grit flew into her eye. Cackling, Uri slammed into her knocking the blinded Angel to the ground before landing punishing blows to her face.

"See I'm wondering," Uri hit her again, "Where is your delightful boyfriend? Did Raven finally grow a pair and manage to kill him? Or did he finally decide to dump your stupid scrawny ass."

She tried to karate chop her in the face but Tomoyo lunged forwards sinking her teeth into Uri's hand. The assassin screamed out in pain as Tomoyo bit down hard drawing blood. Freeing her hand from beneath Uri, Tomoyo slammed the assassin the face knocking her free as she spat the hand out of her mouth. Gagging slightly on the blood, Tomoyo scrubbed at her hands clearing the grit away.

"He's fine… just a little injured after the crap you Venom Squad pulled off. Which by the way," Tomoyo kicked Uri to the ground, "Is why we're so intent on kicking your ass today."

"You mean you're still with him?" Uri taunted, "Even though he's a killer who murdered his way through god knows how many…"

"Oh just shut up!" Tomoyo kicked Uri again knocking her backwards, "This taunting schtick isn't going to work sister so just knock it of…"

A Darkling suddenly slammed into her knocking her to the ground. Tomoyo's head slammed into the ground dazing her as the Darkling reared over her, jaws dripping with bloody. Blinding she lashed out kicking the Darkling's gut knocking it backwards as she rolled to her feet. Leaping into a flip, Tomoyo managed to wrap her legs around its thick neck and with a cry, threw herself backwards bringing the demon down with her.

The Darkling slammed into the ground with a cry as Tomoyo tightened her legs and twisted.

With a dull crack, its neck snapped and the Darkling's eyes went dull.

"Let that be a lesson to you," Tomoyo spat as she slowly climbed to her feet.

"Hey bitch."

Tomoyo looked up. Uri was standing over her triumphantly, a sword picked up from somewhere in her hands.

"Let's see your Marie Antoinette impression," she crowed as she raised her sword ready to chop down on Tomoyo's neck.

"WHAM!"

Uri's eyes rolled into her head and she instantly crumpled to the ground. Michelle stood behind her, bloodied rock in hand as she grinned.

"Well let's see how you like your new brain damage," she snarled dropping the rock as she helped Tomoyo up.

"That's one down," Tomoyo muttered.

"Four more to go," Michelle watched as Xiaolang and Sakura struggled in their magical duel off to the side.

Meiling and Verona were locked in combat elsewhere firing brutal punches at one another.

Tomoyo sighed.

"Where's Anthony?" she asked.

Michelle stabbed a Darkling through the chest before shrugging.

"No idea, lost him in the crowd."

"Damn. Okay I'll find him. Go help Meiling," Tomoyo pushed her friend away, "Go!"

The two Angels darted off to do battle once more as the chaos continued to rage all around them.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Meiling hit Verona again, the spikes digging into the woman's flesh drawing blood. Ruthlessly, Meiling pounded her again drawing out more blood. By this point, Verona was bleeding from a dozen wounds, the oozing blood sapping her strength as Meiling grinned dodging a blow from the Russian woman.

With a cry, Meiling spun around firing a kick straight in Verona's face knocking her backwards. Pressing her advantage, she fired off two punches cracking into Verona's mask as her spiked brass knuckles drilling deep into the ceramic.

Verona fought her off with a swift punch that crashed into Meiling's shoulder knocking her away.

"Shi…" Meiling righted herself as Verona slammed into her.

Meiling stumbled but recovered, grabbing Verona's wrist as she tried to punch her again. With a cry, Meiling slammed her fist down into the woman's arm.

The spikes were thrust deep into Verona's flesh almost coming out through the other side. For the first time during their fight, Verona reacted thrashing wildly in pain as blood spurted out from the deep penetrating wound. Meiling grinned and tore her brass knuckles away before kicking Verona in the exact spot where her arm met her shoulder.

Then was sickening pop and Meiling felt the arm in her hands go limp. She lunged forwards to finish the match but Verona was quicker head-butting Meiling in the face and knocking her backwards.

A monk leapt out of nowhere, screaming as he slashed down at Verona with his sword. Meiling was dazed but could still see what was about to happen.

"NOOOOOO!!" she screamed trying to stop the man, "DON'T!!"

With her one good arm, Verona batted the man's arm away before slamming her palm into his throat. Meiling cried in horror as the Russian assassin crushed the monk's windpipe, destroying it with brutal force.

The man instantly went limp as foam dribbled out of his mouth. He crumpled to the ground as Verona scooped up his sword.

She turned to Meiling and slowly cracked her neck, each sound a deadly omen.

"Shi…" Meiling's eyes widened as Verona charged straight at her, slashing the air with her sword.

Meiling instantly threw herself backwards as the sword whipped past her. She landed and instantly launched into a backwards flip leaping over another slash. An unlucky Darkling and golem, both engaged in combat were cleaved in two as Verona attacked again.

Gore and sand exploded into the air as Verona kicked the bodies aside and lunged at Meiling, stabbing forwards.

Meiling twisted, the sword missing her and ramming itself through another Darkling. The demon screeched and twisted wildly on the end of the blade as Meiling leapt to the side scooping up an abandoned sword.

Somewhere across the battlefield, she could see Xiaolang launching a burst of lightning at Sandra but the woman was…

"What the hell?" Meiling muttered as she realised Sandra could use magic.

The Venom Squad member had thrown up a shimmering of golden light pushing the lightning back and away. Darklings and golems were being incinerated by the deflected attack as monks scrambled away, running for their lives as burst of lightning set fire to the grass and bushes around them.

Oily black smoke began to roll onto the front lawn turned battlefield obscuring everything. And in that split second of distraction, Verona attacked.

Meiling barely had time to bring up her own sword as Verona's blade crashed down onto hers. The ruby-eyed Angel was sent stumbling backwards by the force of the blow as she struggled to defend herself as Verona continued to hack at her over and over again.

"NO!!"

Meiling cried out in horror as Verona's blade slammed down onto her sword jarring her arm but this time the sword sheared straight through the metal leaving Meiling with a useless metal hilt. Her shattered blade fell to the ground as Verona's blade sliced down with incredible speed. Meiling tried to leap away but she was too slow.

"ARGHHH!!"

She screamed out in pain as Verona's sword bit deep into her hip. Her leg instantly gave out as she crumpled to the ground.

Verona immediately pounced swinging her sword.

Meiling looked up at her in horror knowing that there was no way she could defend herself. She could only wait to die…

The sword flew at her like the Reaper's scythe.

She was going to die…

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Michelle gasped in horror as Meiling fell under Verona's attack.

"Meiling!" she shouted but her voice was lost under the roar of the Darklings and the sound of battle.

Moving quickly, she twisted the handle on her staff again.

"SHINK! SHINK!"

The blades retracted back turning the double-ended spear into a quarterstaff again. Dashing forwards, Michelle kicked a Darkling away as it tried to attack her. With a cry, she dug the blunt end of the staff into the soil and leapt with all her might.

Pole-vaulting over the heads of the golems, Darklings and monks, Michelle landed right next to Verona and instantly lashed out with her staff praying it would be enough.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"CLANG!"

A metal staff flew into Meiling's dazed view knocking the sword away.  
"Get up!" Michelle barked, "Get up!"

The blonde-haired Angel twisted her staff knocking the sword to the ground before slamming the end of it into Verona's face.

The Russian assassin stumbled backwards.

"Get up!" Michelle screamed at Meiling.

"You saved me," Meiling murmured, obviously out of it, "You saved me."

"Yeah, now repay me by getting the hell up!" Michelle screamed.

Meiling slowly climbed to her feet, her eyes still slightly unfocused as Verona lunged forwards again. Michelle tried to smack her away with the staff but Verona caught it in her good hand and swung wildly.

Michelle was sent flying, losing her grip on the staff as she slammed into a golem pushing it into a Darkling. The monstrous reptile immediately tore it to shreds before grabbing Michelle.

The Angel struggled with the monster as metres away from her Verona advanced on Meiling, quarterstaff in hand.

Meiling raised her brass-knuckled fists, every muscle in her body screaming in pain and waited.

The attack came quickly and viciously. Verona stabbed forwards with the staff, Meiling spun away but Verona anticipated the move and swung the staff to the side smacking her heavily in the ribs. Meiling yelped out in pain and almost tripped over her own foot.

Stumbling, she righted herself as Verona came at her, her useless arm dangling by her side as the other held the staff high above.

Verona swept the staff down, Meiling jumping away as the staff slammed into the ground.

With a cry, Meiling leapt forwards grabbing onto the end of the staff as Verona tried to yank it back towards her.

The two sworn enemies struggled to overpower the other, pulling the staff between them. But the long fight had gotten to Meiling and it was starting to show. Verona began to pull the staff slowly towards her as the Asian Angel clung on grimly, digging her heels in trying to yank the weapon away.

Verona gave one mighty pull and Meiling was jerked off the end. But she retaliated quickly, grabbing hold of the staff again and shoving it forwards. Verona stumbled as the end of the staff slammed into her gut.

"Gotcha!" Meiling moved to repeat the attack but Verona had already recovered.

The Russian woman clamped her hand around the staff stopping Meiling from driving it forwards. They struggled again, the end of the staff resting against Verona's gut as Meiling tried to jab her with it again.

"MEILING!!" Michelle blasted the Darkling she was fighting with away with a kick, "THE BLADE! THE BLADE!!"

Meiling's eyes widened as Michelle's words slammed into her head. Sending Verona a nasty smile, Meiling spun away from the staff's end and lunged forwards grabbing hold of staff's middle where the handgrip was.

"Sorry V," the Angel drawled, "But I've just gotta stick it to you."

Meiling twisted the handle.

"SHINK! SHINK!"

Verona's head snapped back in a soundless roar of pain as the long blades shot out from the staff's ends. The razor sharp spearhead slammed into her gut, cutting deep as blood instantly gushed out from the gaping mortal wound.

With the blade embedded in her gut, Verona stumbled forwards, still clutching the staff.

Meiling backed away as blood sprayed from the large wound.

The Russian woman tripped forwards and sealed her fate.

Michelle and Meiling let out twin cries of horror and looked away as Verona fell on the staff driving it deeper into her. Time seemed to slow as Verona slumped to the side, the double bladed quarterstaff impaled through her body.

The body twitched and finally went still.

Meiling gaped at her.

"Oh my god… she's dead," Meiling whispered almost not believing it.

After almost four years of fighting the Venom squad assassin Meiling was left stunned to see that the woman had finally fallen.

"Huh."

"Come on!" Michelle grabbed Meiling and spun her around, "We've got to stop the other members!"

Meiling shook herself and instantly leapt back into the fray as all around Verona's cooling body, the battle raged on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"DIE!"

Garrett flung his arm forwards and the knives, suspended in the air by his magic, instantly lanced forwards becoming a deadly barrage of razor sharp metal.

"MOVE!" Heng screamed waving his hand.

The fridge immediately leapt from its place and spun in front of them, the knives slamming into its metal body.

Nivaline and Heng had caught up with Garrett in the kitchen and an all out magical fight was in progress.

The dark mage wheezed and clutched his chest as Nivaline grinned wickedly.

"Awww… does the lil' baby want a nap?" she taunted.

Garrett glared at her.

"DARFLAMIUS!" he bellowed.

The kitchen stove promptly exploded propelling long tongues fire at Nivaline and Heng.

"XUE!"

Nivaline pointed at the fridge and it burst open, unleashing a veritable blizzard from its depth. It collided with the fire instantly extinguishing the flames as Garrett clapped his hands together.

The floor beneath Nivaline and Heng exploded tossing them backwards into the wall as Garrett screamed out an unknown word.

Electrical wiring burst out from the walls, moving like serpents as they wrapped themselves around Nivaline and Heng binding them up. Nivaline choked as one cable wrapped itself around her neck, cutting off her hair.

Heng instantly acted.

"STILLAMA!" he shouted.

The cables went limp and fell away from them as Garrett pointed his hands at them.

"You're starting to get on my nerves!" the dark mage howled.

A stream of crackling dark energy slammed into Heng sending him into fits of screaming pain as Nivaline glared at Garrett.

A burst of green light sent the dark mage flying across the room. He crashed into a table and lay amidst the debris, face pale and drenched with sweat as he fought for breath.

"HUO!" Nivaline sent a burst of flame at him but Garrett snapped his fingers.

He disappeared in a puff of dark smoke, the flame setting the remnants of the table alit.

Garrett instantly reappeared in the doorway leading into the kitchen and flung his arm forwards.

"Stop trying to fight me and just die already!" he bellowed.

Nivaline and Heng both let out cries of shock as an invisible force gripped their bodies and sent them flying up towards the ceiling. They slammed into the ceiling, back first as the invisible force pinned them down leaving them helpless.

"Now, just lay there like good boys and girls and just burn," Garrett pointed at the fire burning in the kitchen and it immediately flared up becoming a giant inferno.

Whirling around, he stormed away from the kitchen as Nivaline and Heng lay helplessly trapped against the ceiling as the flames reared up ready to devour them.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura let out a cry of effort and shoved the lightning away. The attack split and broke up sending sparks flying in every direction.

Darklings and golems were instantly incinerated as the refracted attack tore through their bodies. The smell of burning flesh swept through the battlefield causing all the humans to choke violently.

Sakura slowly lowered her hand, gasping with exertion. Xiaolang glared at her, a trail of blood falling from his nose.

"Getting a little stressed there Xiaolang?" Sakura managed to cough out.

Xiaolang glared at her and wiped the blood away with the back of his hands.

"Not even a little."

His hand whipped forwards ready to unleash another attack but Sakura struck first. A bolt of golden energy shot out from the tips of her fingers and slammed into Xiaolang's chest knocking him backwards.

The dark-haired assassin instantly leapt forwards landing a brutal crescent kick to his head. Xiaolang fell to the side as Sakura lashed out again with a snap kick. The blow connected and sent him stumbling onto his back.

"Just give up," Sakura growled.

Before Xiaolang could even react, Sakura placed the heel of her foot on his throat, digging in slightly. The amber-haired mage wheezed and began to move but Sakura pressed down harder instantly sealing off his airway.

"Place nicely or you lose oxygen," Sakura warned.

She released her foot slightly as Xiaolang coughed and glared at her.

"Hey bitch," he snarled, "Watch your back."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"WHAM!"

A golem punched her straight in the back of the head sending her flying. Sakura twisted through the air shooting off a blast of magic that tore through the magical earthy creature. The golem promptly exploded into a cascade of soil and rock as Sakura landed awkwardly on her feet, instantly falling to her knees.

Xiaolang was there, kicking out. The devastating blow connected with her shoulder twisting her to the ground.

With a cry, Xiaolang tried to a reverse kick slamming the heel down towards her chest. Sakura's arm shot out and grabbed his foot.

"PARESTHESIA!" she screamed out.

Gold light burst from her fingertips and shot out Xiaolang's leg. The man yelped out in shock as numbness seeped through his muscles like ice, melting all strength away. Sakura threw his heel away throwing him backwards before flipping back onto her feet.

Xiaolang tried to steady himself but one leg was partially paralysed unable to take his wait. He stumbled on it and almost fell flat on his face but recovered hopping slightly on his other foot.

Sakura smirked at him.

"You look ridiculous," she taunted.

Xiaolang merely shot her a cold calculating smile.

"You look like a bird," he raised his hands.

Sakura moved to deflect the attack away but she was a fraction too slow. A huge rippling wave of green energy ripped through the air tossing Darklings and golems away in its path before slamming into Sakura.

A scream was ripped out of her throat as she was sent flying through the air with incredible speed. A stunned silence fell over the battlefield as everyone watched the Venom Squad assassin sail through the air and crashed straight through the front door of the house.

The door splintered under the blow as Sakura blasted through the doorway and slammed into a wall leaving a sizeable crater in the plaster. With a moan, she flopped on the ground face first, blood flowing freely from the numerous cuts on her body.

Xiaolang grinned and pointed at his paralysed leg. The feeling quickly returned as confidently, he strode through the chaotic battle and casually entered the house.

"Well, Sandra," he raised his hands as crackling green energy gathered between his fingers, "This doesn't like good for a dark-haired villain."

He pointed them at the downed Sakura.

"Let's hear you scream."

A jet of green energy ripped through Sakura's body. She convulsed wildly as her piercing scream rang through the house.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Tomoyo danced around a Darkling's wild slashes before darting in and socking it in the face. The dark lizard-like monster fell to the ground as Tomoyo glanced around.

Her jaw dropped in shock as she saw Xiaolang launch a massive spell at Sandra. She watched, awed, as the assassin went flying crashing into the house.

"Ouch," she winced.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the battle and tried to spot Anthony through the bedlam.

A glimpse of dark hair instantly drew her attention as Tomoyo grinned. She instantly darted towards the tall leader of the Venom Squad punching anything that got in her way.

Anthony was fighting off a golem, slashing at it wildly with his sword as blood ran freely from a cut on his cheek. With a snarl, he sliced the earth monster's head off turning it into an explosion of sand. He whirled around ready to face his next opponent and stopped seeing Tomoyo's grinning face.

"If you don't mind me saying so Anthony, I gotta say," Tomoyo's smile turned perfectly evil, "It's not look good for your merry band of idiots."

"Well then," Anthony pointed his sword at her, "Let's even out the score."

Tomoyo grinned and raised her hand beckoning him towards her. With a cry, Anthony lunged forwards trying to impale her on the end of his sword but Tomoyo was way faster, spinning away. She ducked as Anthony's sword went flying past overhead. As soon as it swept past her body, she launched into a horizontal spinning kick knocking the sword out of the man's hand.

Anthony was left gaping as his sword was sent flying into the melee around them and was instantly lost. Tomoyo landed gracefully from her spin and gave him a little bow.

"Come on Anthony," Tomoyo taunted, "Let's have a real fight."

Anthony cocked his head to the side.

"Let's not."

He whipped a gun out from his belt and pointed it at her. Tomoyo's eyes widened.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

Bullets ripped through the air around her as Tomoyo hit the ground covering her head as Anthony fired wildly. The shots stopped and Tomoyo looked up anxiously but the man was gone.

She cursed wildly.

"Coward."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Nivaline and Heng struggled wildly trying to pull themselves free from the magical bonds Garrett had put them under but it was hopeless. The flames reared up getting closer and closer, the heat almost becoming unbearable as both of them began coughing violently, the smoke invading every pore on their lung.

"God damn it," Nivaline wheezed.

She tried to move her hand, tried to come up with a spell to free them or extinguish the flames but the smoke was getting to her, slowing down her thoughts and reflexes.

"Heng?" she coughed out.

The man merely groaned in response.

"BANG!"

Nivaline and Heng both blinked in surprise as the kitchen door suddenly exploded inwards.

Sandra flew across the room and slammed into the kitchen bench before crashing to the ground.

"Had enough?" Xiaolang demanded strolling through the door, energy dancing between his fingers.

Sandra merely groaned and tried to move limbs but the movements were slowed and laboured.

"XIAOLANG!" Nivaline bellowed.

Shocked, the man turned towards the woman and gaped as the situation she and Heng was in and in that split second of distraction, Sandra reared up and attacked.

"ATTACK!" she screamed pointing at the raging fire.

The flames instantly leapt at Xiaolang like a living beast, spitting sparks and belching smoke. The amber-eyed mage leapt backwards as the inferno clawed at him, sending streaks of flames at his body.

Sandra smirked as Xiaolang was forced to do an awkward little side shuffle to avoid being incinerated to the spot.

"So Nivaline," Sandra asked the pinned down woman, "How long do you think he'll last? Two minutes? One? Wanna put some money on it? I'll give you good odds."

Nivaline glared at her.

"Go to hell you sadistic bitch!" she shot back.

Sandra rolled her eyes.

"That's the best you got?" she muttered, "Because… ouch. Not."

She snapped her fingers at the fire and it instantly reacted pulling together into a long painfully bright coil of crackling flame.

"Attack my pretty attack!" she cackled pointing at Xiaolang.

The coil of fire swayed through the air like a deadly cobra, moving with slow cold purpose as Xiaolang held up his hands, energy collecting in his palms.

"ANTOSTILLAMATO!" he bellowed.

Sandra's smile fell as he launched the spell not at her fiery creation but at Nivaline and Heng. She whirled around and held up her hands to block the enchantment but could only watch in horror as the blue energy washed over the helplessly trapped duo.

"NO!" she screamed.

Garrett's spell immediately vanished, the invisible force holding Nivaline and Heng to the ceiling melting away into nothingness. With a cry, the two of them fell to the ground, crashing into the tiles with painful force. But both of them instantly leapt back up to their feet, ready to do battle.

Sandra instantly whirled around looking for an exit but Xiaolang smirked at her, cutting her off, even as her fire spell inched closer towards him.

She whipped back towards Nivaline and Heng and swore as she realised she was cornered.

"Heng. Xiaolang," Nivaline pointed at her dangerously, "Let's show Sandra what real magic feels like."

"NOW!" Heng bellowed.

Sandra let out a scream as three jets of crackling energy lanced out from the three mages. The triple attack ripped through her, sending her slim figure into wild convulsions as the magical maelstrom coursed through her body.

The massive amount of magic hit critical force with devastating results.

"BOOM!"

In a huge explosion of white light, Sandra was blasted backwards, crashing straight through the kitchen wall leaving a giant hole behind.

Her fire spell instantly vanished, turning in on itself and disappearing in a puff of smoke. In the silence that followed, Xiaolang cautiously approached the gaping hole in the wall. He poked his head through.

Sandra was lying on the ground surrounded by broken bits of plaster and wood, out cold as her body continued to twitch with the aftershocks of being hit with three different spells. Blood oozed lazily from a deep cut on her forehead.

She was definitely out for the count.

"Sandra's knocked out from the industrial sized ass whooping we just gave her," Xiaolang reported as he retracted his head from the hole.

"Good," Nivaline smiled, "Now… let's get Garrett and that tablet."

Nodding, Xiaolang darted out of the kitchen as Nivaline and Heng hurried to catch up.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anthony was not a fighting man. He maybe arrogant but he wasn't deluded and that's why he was doing all he could to stay out of the Angels' way. He cursed as he spotted Meiling punching her way through the chaos, looking for him.

He hurriedly darted off in a different direction slicing anything that got in his way. As a golem stumbled backwards, armless from his latest attack, Anthony came to a halt and stared.

"No. No. NO!" Anthony screamed, his voice lost in the battle all around him.

He stumbled forwards, his dark eyes disbelieving.

Verona was dead, lying in a pool of her own blood as sunlight glinted off the metal staff impaled through her body.

"Those bitches!" Anthony seethed.

Screaming in rage, he whipped around and stabbed his sword into a nearby Darkling slaying it instantly. For a few seconds, he was lost in a tide of overwhelming fury lashing out without thought, killing anything that approached. Slowly his wrath subsided as his sword dipped and fatigue screamed up his arm.

"I'll get them back for this," he swore looking at Verona's body, "Don't you worry. You'll get your revenge in hell."

Turning away from the downed Venom Squad assassin, Anthony's eyes darted around the battlefield looking for his fellow assassins. He knew Sandra was in the house having witnessed her being blasted by magic into the building.

He prayed the dark-haired woman was all right. He couldn't avoid to lose another person in this battle.

A shock of light blue hair caught his eyes as Anthony paled. Fighting his way through the ranks of monsters tearing at each other and monks fighting for their lives, Anthony's eyes widened as he noticed a trio of Darklings bent over Uri's prone body, their claws inches from her skin.

"BACK OFF YOU BASTARDS!!" he screamed, "BACK OFF!"

He lunged forwards slashing wildly with his sword. A Darkling went down, a gaping wound in its throat as Anthony whirled on the other two. The dark lizards slashed out at him but Anthony was quicker. He sidestepped the attack and chopped out, instantly slicing off one of the Darkling's arm. The demon screamed and jerked backwards, blood jetting out from its handless stump. It convulsed wildly sending blood flying everywhere.

The other Darkling cried out as blood sprayed into its eyes blinding it. Anthony instantly darted forwards hacking at its face dispatching it in a frenzied attack. The injured Darkling instantly turned tail and ran for its life as Anthony spat at the ground.

"You better not be dead," he warned the unconscious Uri, "Because I did not risk my life to save a dead woman."

He knelt down and pressed a finger against her neck. A weak pulse thrummed against his fingertips as Anthony let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned back to the fight just in time to see Tomoyo fight off three Darklings and finish them off with dagger thrusts to the gut.

"Damn it," Anthony cursed.

He turned to Uri.

"Any fool can see this battle's over," Anthony carefully draped Uri's arm across his shoulder, "No point in fighting on."

He slowly stood up supporting Uri against him as the blue-haired woman groaned, blood still dripping from her wounds.

"Come on," Anthony gripped his sword tightly, "Let's the get the hell out of here."

Moving as fast as he could, Anthony dragged his fellow assassin from the battle.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Garrett sprinted through the house, throwing glances behind him as he ran.

"OPEN!" he bellowed snapping out his finger.

The back door blew open as Garrett stumbled through the doorway. He leapt down the stairs leading to the dried up lawn outside, instantly heading for the metal link fences on the far side.

As he ran, he closed his eyes and concentrated trying to pool his magic, trying one last desperate spell.

He instantly fell to the ground, let out a great wheezing cough.

"Damn it," he gasped hoarsely.

"Not enough energy to do a teleport spell eh?" Xiaolang appeared at the back door, "Too bad."

Garrett slowly crawled to his feet, his eyes darting back towards the fence. But before he could move, a wall of shimmering green fire sent over the metal links turning the fence into an impenetrable barrier of burning flames.

"Don't think so," Nivaline wagged her fingers at him.

"So three on one? And I thought you were the honourable guys," Garrett spat.

"You preaching about honour?" Heng raised an eyebrow, "I find that slightly ironic."

Garrett growled at him and punched the air with his fist. The slim Asian man was instantly knocked onto his back as an invisible force slammed into his stomach.

Nivaline and Xiaolang instantly lashed out sending out a wave of rainbow-coloured light.

Garrett stomped his feet and the earth instantly responded, a dark crevasse splitting across the grass as a huge boulder leapt up from deep underground. The magical spell slammed into the rock and promptly exploded hurling smoking debris everywhere but Garrett stood unharmed.

"This should be fun," Nivaline said dryly.

She raised her hands and pulled one of them back as though she was clutching a bow and arrow. With a cry, she pointed it up at the sky and released her fingers. A shimmering arrow of pale light shot up into the bright morning sun. As it arced through the top of its trajectory and aimed back down at the earth, the arrow flashed and instantly multiplied itself until a veritable rain of arrows lanced down towards Garrett.

The dark mage screamed and clapped his hands together.

The arrows turned into huge dark crows that whirled around and descended onto Xiaolang, Nivaline and Heng who was slowly get up off the ground.

"LIGHTNING!" Xiaolang cried.

Tendrils of electricity shot out from his hand instantly enveloping a dozen crows. The lighting jumped and arced from crow to crow until every single was one was caught up in a giant net of crackling energy.

With a thundering roar, the lightning exploded turning each crow into a pile of ash.

"UMBRATANA!" Garrett commanded in a booming voice.

Dark light exploded from his chest as Garrett stumbled backwards, coughing wildly. The light twisted and morphed, flattening and elongating. The light seemed to condense and thicken until it resembled dark thick ink. Garrett laughed and held out his hands and the black liquid instantly leapt to his arm, merging his with skin.

"What the…"

"Say hello to pain," Garrett pointed his darkness infected hand at them.

Instantly the darkness exploded forwards sending out massive tentacles of the same dark substance out. The tentacles whipped through the air as Nivaline, Xiaolang and Heng leapt away from the door.

The darkness crashed into the house and ripped the brick and plaster to shreds as though it was cardboard. The tentacles quickly reversed their direction and shot off towards the three mages as Garrett smiled.

"You cannot escape from this attack," he taunted, "Soon you will be overwhelmed by the power of my spell!"

Nivaline sent a burst of green fire at the tentacles heading towards her but they easily ploughed through the attack. The tentacles convulsed and exploded sending out more tendrils of darkness as Nivaline cried out in shock.

The tentacles slammed into her, entangling her limbs as Nivaline struggled wildly. She opened her mouth to scream but the tentacles were like snake moving quickly and viciously.

Xiaolang and Heng both let out cries of horror as one of the tentacles darted forwards and plunged deep into Nivaline's mouth. The blonde-haired woman struggled wildly as Garrett laughed victoriously.

Darkness seemed to leak out like blood from every pore in Nivaline's body. Thick dark inky liquid spurted from his nose and ears, oozing from her corner of her eyes. Xiaolang and Heng cried out Nivaline's name and rushed to help her but had to hurriedly back off as the tentacles swayed towards them, ready to attack.

With a final choked scream, Nivaline's body went limp. The tentacles dropped her prone body to the ground as they swivelled towards the two remaining mages.

The green fiery wall conjured up by Nivaline vanished from existence as Garrett smiled.

"Good," he smirked.

His eyes drifted to the darkness gripping his hand.

"Kill them," he commanded.

The tentacles shot forwards with incredible speed, rocketing through the air at Heng and Xiaolang.

Heng took a few steps backwards, his face pale but Xiaolang was unafraid.

"You're not the only person who can conjure up the forces of nature," Xiaolang smirked.

"So?" Garrett shot back, "Darkness is the greatest power nature possesses, devouring all that comes in its path. Surely even a pathetic amateur like you knows that."

"No, there is one thing darkness fears," Xiaolang raised his fingers, "Fire."

Red flames instantly exploded from his fingertips and whipped around Xiaolang in raging inferno. Heng gaped at the mage as Xiaolang stood amongst the fire, a fierce look of focus on his face.

"Kami of the fire, I call upon you!" he commanded, "Bring forth your strongest creation and burn the darkness before me. FIRE!"

The flames whipped forwards colliding in the shadowy tentacles. Garrett bared his teeth and opened his hands sending out more of the dark tarry liquid out but the fire raged even brighter.

Xiaolang smiled coldly at Garrett.

"My name in Chinese means little wolf," he said in a low deadly voice, "Time to show you why."

His eyes flicked back to the fire.

"Reveal your true form! Lang!"

An ear splitting howl pierced the air as the flames took form. Four burning paws dug deep into the earth incinerating grass and turning sand into glass. A long tail of rippling, crackling flames wagged lazily sending waves of superheated air into its surroundings. Burning red eyes looked over a long snout lined with teeth of fire.

The giant fire wolf howled and plunged fearlessly into the shadows as Xiaolang laughed.

Garrett screamed as the fire-wolf lunged forwards clamping down on the tarry tentacles with its fiery teeth. The tentacles writhed in pain, splattering dark ink everywhere. The wolf howled and the tentacles withered, boiling away into nothing as Garrett took one hesitating step backwards.

The fire-wolf leapt forwards and slammed straight into the dark mage. The shadow clinging to the mage's hands instantly rippled and melted, steam pour of its inky formless body.

Gripping Garrett's shirt in its burning teeth, the wolf reared backwards and with a mighty heave of its head sent the dark mage flying.

Garrett slammed into the fence, his flesh burning before crumpling to the ground. The shadowy substance on his fingers trembled and instantly disintegrated until only blistered skin was left.

The mage tried to pull himself up but his arms trembled and failed as Garrett collapsed onto the ground and into darkness.

Xiaolang smiled.

"Good job,' he nodded at the fire-wolf.

The beast howled and vanished in a burst of light.

Across the yard, Nivaline let out a low painful moan.

"Elder!" Heng dashed towards her as Xiaolang spat at the dark mage.

"Is she alright?" Xiaolang asked turning back to Heng who was helping Nivaline up.

"She's peachy," Nivaline groaned out.

Her green-blue eyes fell onto Garrett's prone body.

"He's finished?"  
"He's finished," Xiaolang confirmed.

"Good," Nivaline let out a low cough, "Now let's get that Clow Reed tablet back."

Helping the woman along, the three mages went back into the house.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and moaned.

"You're awake good," Anthony nodded.

"What happened?" Sakura slowly pulled herself up, her body screaming in pain.

She blinked seeing the destruction all around her.

"We lost," Anthony said bluntly, "The Darkling things just faded a second ago so I'm guessing Garrett lost. We need to get out of here now."

Anthony and Sakura froze as the sound of footsteps came towards them. Anthony dove behind a couch as Sakura slumped back to the ground, pretending to be out cold.

Xiaolang and Heng moved passed the doorway, supporting Nivaline between them. As they disappeared Sakura got back up as Anthony reappeared from behind the couch.

"Find Garrett and drag him towards the secret garage," Anthony told her, "Uri's already inside the car."

"Verona?"

"Dead," Anthony spat.

Sakura gaped at him.

"Wha… how?" she whispered frantically.

"Let's worry about that later. Now go!"

Anthony darted off into the house as Sakura slowly climbed to her feet, her limbs shaking. Taking a long deep breath, Sakura steadied herself and moved quickly towards the back of the house.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Damn," Tomoyo cursed as she carefully closed the dead monk's eyes.

"What's the causality so far?" Meiling asked grimly.

"Four," Tomoyo said sadly slowly standing up.

The golems were gone reduced back to unformed piles of sand and soil as the remnants of a huge battle littered the yard and concrete around them.

Michelle ran up to them.

"Uri!" she said frantically, "I can't find her! She's gone!"

Tomoyo and Meiling stared at her.

"Shi…"  
"BANG!"

The three Angels whirled around. Suddenly from the side of the house, one of the walls exploded outwards as something heavy burst straight through the plaster and wood. A dark van hit the road with a thundering crash as its engines roared.

Before they could take another step, the van sped off, wheels bouncing across the uneven ground.

They could only watch in horror as the van fishtailed around a corner and disappear from sight leaving only a trail of noxious smoke and tyre tracks behind.

"Oh come on!" Meiling yelled in disgust, "You've got to be…"

Xiaolang appeared in the ruined doorway of the former safehouse.

"Sandra! Garrett! They're gone!" he shouted angrily.

"Yeah," Tomoyo threw up her hands in frustration, "We know!"

"Well," Michelle sighed, "At least it wasn't a complete waste."

She pointed at Verona's body.

"That's one down."

"And this," Nivaline appeared beside Xiaolang, still supported by Heng.

"Is that?" Michelle's voice trailed off.

"The stone tablet!" Meiling's eyes widened recognising the artefact Garrett had seized back in China.

Nivaline smiled weakly and clutched it to her chest. A silence fell over the group as they surveyed the devastation all around them.

"Sooo…" Michelle's voice trailed off, "Anyone up for a movie?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anthony drove wildly, darting from lane to lane as Sakura swore her slight body being banged from side to side.

"Drive properly you idiot!" she screamed.

Anthony glared at her but slowed down immediately. Sakura turned back to Uri carefully peeled her eyelids back.

"She's unconscious, probably got a concussion but I think that's it," Sakura sighed, "We need to get to a hospital."

She pointed at Garrett's prone body who was also sprawled out in back of the van.

"And he's got some nasty burns that need looking after."

"We can't," Anthony gritted his teeth.

"Well of course not a public hospital. Too many questions but how bout one of the hospital Cobra Mark controls?" Sakura asked, "Can't we…"

"We can't," Anthony repeated.

"Why not?" Sakura demanded.

"Let's just say the higher ups at Cobra Mark aren't happy bout the fact we've been following Garrett around of late," Anthony snarled, "They've been on my ass asking me to do some proper work."

"We've got a new target?" Sakura demanded.

"No," Anthony slowed the van at a red light, "I think they want to remind us who's boss. They want to see me tomorrow."

"See you?" Sakura paled.

She knew a little about how Cobra Mark worked. There were several different cells spread out throughout the world, each operating independently of each other only peripherally aware of the other cells' existence.

However every organization had a boss and the Cobra Mark's was a mysterious group known only as the Controllers.

"The Controllers? They want to see you?" Sakura questioned.

She had heard stories about members of Cobra Mark being dragged up to see the Controllers when they were displeased… the stories never ended well.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Anthony disengaged the brakes and the van started moving forwards again, "So cross your fingers."

He stared grimly out the window.

"Cos I might be dead by tomorrow."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Beth?"

The young nurse in training turned around.

"Yes?" Beth fought the urge to bow at the senior nurse who had a serious look on her face.

"Didn't I tell you to check the monitors in room 242?" Danielle asked.

Beth cleared her throat nervously.

"Well… I was going to but Mr. Jensen needed a…" the excuses died away at the looking the nurse shot her.

"Beth."

Danielle looked like she was ready to kill her.

"Mam," Beth swallowed heavily.

"Do it. Now."

"Right away!"

Beth darted off, glad to be away from the disapproving look the senior nurse was sending in her direction. Taking a deep steadying breath, Beth walked down the hallway towards room 242.

She knocked at the closed door then froze, embarrassed.

"Jeez smooth Beth," she muttered, "Of course the comatose patient can hear you."

Shaking her head at her own stupidity, Beth opened the door and stepped inside. As usual, the tall dark-haired man was lying on the hospital bed, his eyes still firmly closed.

Monitors beeped and pinged all around him, keeping track of his vital signs.

Fighting down her still jittery nerves, Beth stepped forwards and did a quick check of the monitors. Noting down the data in the patient file hanging off the end of the bed.

Dropping the chart on the man's lap, Beth carefully peeled back the blanket and pulled his shirt up checking the wound in his stomach.

Thankfully the bandage was clean meaning the bleeding had finally stopped. Beth couldn't help but wondered how this man had come to be in this position. He had appeared out of nowhere, dragged out of a rubbish heap with serious stabs wounds to his stomach.

He had been rushed to the hospital and even with a whole team of surgeons working on him. It had been touch and go for a while but the man was a fighter and he was slowly recovering.

Biting her lip, Beth moved to peel back to the bandages to see how the wounds were healing.

Suddenly a hand clamped around her wrist as Beth jumped in shock.

"Pl… please…"

Beth gaped at the man, noticing despite her shock his eyelids were slowly fluttering open.

"A phone…" the man managed to croak, " I need to…"

Beth continued to stare at him, trying to make sense of what was happ…"

"I need to call… Sakura is…"

Beth blinked and finally found her voice.

"DANIELLE! DANIELLE!! COME HERE NOW!!"

As the sound of footsteps pounded towards her, Beth stared at the man down in shock.

Jonathan Blackly finally opened his eyes and stared up at the woman staring down at him.

"Umm…" Beth cleared her throat, "Hi?"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Next chapter:

The truth comes out as Jonathan Blackly wakes up and contacts the CIA about Sakura. Chance and fate collide together bringing Sakura face to face with an old friend who just might end her days as a Cobra Mark Assassin. Find out how the lies finally come to light in... _Fugitive_


End file.
